endsmoke.com

There’s a lot of speculation over showing smoking in the media such as in films and on TV. Anti-smoking campaigners think that this has a negative effect on the problem of smoking and its health related issues, especially on younger people, and claim that letting fewer people see smoking taking place in the media could save thousands of lives.

This week anti-smoking campaigners from a youth group called D-MYST made a display in central Liverpool against the display of smoking in films aimed at younger audiences. The group want to see films containing smoking being given an 18 certificate in the same way those containing sex, violence and bad language do. The group had made papier mache heads of cinema stars including Samuel L Jackson and Jessica Rabbit and walked through the centre to raise awareness of their campaign.

The local council is now considering whether to impose age restrictions on films containing smoking. If this was implemented then other places could follow suit and this could lead to a reduction in films showing smoking.

I am now on my 11th day of giving up smoking and i have noticed that i have been hungry a lot more so have had to find ways in being able to pick during the day but not turn into a fatty.

I have been out and bought some celery, carrots, low fat houmas and low fat dips as this seems to keep me busy and also fill me up as i used to have a cigarette when i was hungry in order to keep my weight down.

I found a rubber toy which i can sit and squeeze so i have been playing with this without me even noticing as this keeps my mind on something so i dont tend to think about nipping out for a cigarette.

If anyone has any other good tips let me know.

I woke up with bad tonsilitus a couple of weeks ago and ended up in bed for 5 days.  After not having a cigarette for 5 days and previously smoking up to 20 a day i decided to try and stop smoking by going cold turkey.

I am now on my 10th day of giving up and have not had a single cigarette but there have been times i have been tempted to have one.  I dont think it is due to craving though it is mainly due to habit.

On a night out i usually get dressed and have one than put my shoes on and swap my handbag over so was confused when i was ready, at lunch i usually eat my food than go out and call my boyfriend whilst having a cigarette but now the lunch hour is dragging as i dont go out for my 2 cigs.

As my boyfriend is a smoker i thought it would be a lot harder but he has been really good and not smoked in the car with me and he goes outside to smoke now but the smell on his breath is really hitting me.

I have noticed the spare money i have in my purse so that is always a good thing and to keep me going i bought a new pair of sunglasses!

As we’ve said before, quitting smoking can be hard because it is a habit that often becomes a natural part of your day to day life at different times of the day. So if you’re used to having a cigarette at break time, at the end of lunch or just before you go to bed, it’s likely that these times will be hard to deal with as the cravings may increase when your body is used to having a cigarette.

One way of tackling this is to find alternative activities at these times. This might be as simple as having a game of Sudoku (my phone has the game automatically installed but you can probably buy it as an application) which probably takes about the same time as smoking one or two cigarettes. If you’re a bit creative you might fancy doing a bit of painting or creative writing. At first it might be hard to focus your mind on anything except that you want a cigarette, but as you condition your brain to think about the activity instead of the craving, you might find the creative side of you becomes a good distraction. Another good activity that takes concentration is a jigsaw, if you have it in a prominent position in your house you might start to be more tempted by a few minutes finding the next piece!

If you have a smoke before work, why not get up a little earlier and go to the gym, for a run or a swim? You can’t smoke and do these things at the same time, and you’ll have the added pleasure of knowing you’re making a double impact on your health by substituting your unhealthy habit for a healthy one. Also, you’ll feel physically tired when you get to work but your brain will be more alert and engaged from the early morning stimulation. The same goes for lunchtime – why not go for a walk in the fresh air instead of sitting at your desk or workstation wishing you could have a cigarette?

Everybody’s different but there must be activities that will interest you and take your focus away from the fact that you are withdrawing from cigarettes. Give a few different things a try and see what’s right for you.

The government and local authorities are always looking for new ways to help smokers to quit the habit, and one way that is being piloted in some NHS Trusts is using financial incentives to give up smoking. Earlier this year Professor Julian Le Grand, who is chairman of Health England and an advisor to the government on health issues, said that using incentives for quitting smoking and other health related lifestyle changes such as reducing alcohol intake and healthy eating, could make a big impact. The vouchers could be exchanged for wellbeing-related things like healthy food or activities such as gym membership. They obviously couldn’t be used for purchasing cigarettes or alcohol!

There are already schemes like this running in other countries, such as Germany, where contributions for social insurance (NI) are reduced if people go to classes for smoking cessation. The UK pilot schemes are in their early stages at the moment, and there is as yet no word on their effectiveness in increasing quitting rates, but more NHS trusts are being urged to give financial incentives a go. This is a totally different way of working than the usual negative incentive method of increasing prices through added tax.

Keep your eye out for schemes such as this in the future!

The last post talked about nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and its various forms such as gum, patches or inhalers. NRT can be really helpful in getting you past the initial heavy cravings and withdrawal symptoms that people get when they quit smoking, which are often the reason that they fail. If you have decided to quit, and you’re thinking of using NRT, there are some things you need to consider:

Make sure you have the right kind of NRT

The person to advise you on this is your GP, or there may be a specific advisor for quitting smoking in your local health service (which your GP can refer you to). There are some types of NRT that are not suitable for everyone (e.g. pregnant or breastfeeding women) and there will be a particular type that will be right for you, although you might need to try a couple of different types before you find the right one.

Follow the instructions carefully

Each type of NRT will come with instructions, and it is vital that you read these carefully and adhere to the guidelines, as failing to do so may hinder your progress towards a smoke free life.

Use the right amount of NRT

When you start using NRT you’ll have to use the amount recommended in the instructions, but as you adjust you will need to gradually reduce the amount. Don’t go too quickly, it’s better to gradually come off the medicine, and don’s stop completely until you are sure you’re ready.

Don’t smoke whilst you’re using NRT

This will not help your progress towards quitting. But if you do have a weak moment, don’t just stop using the NRT, keep at it and you’ll succeed in the long run.

If you’ve ever tried to quit smoking without any assistance – ‘cold turkey’ – you may have found that the sudden change in how you were feeling was too much to take, and maybe it was just too hard to get used to your body without the nicotine. A lot of people give up quitting smoking in their first week of trying, this can be because the withdrawal symptoms are worst at this time. So getting some help with specific medicines designed to help control the cravings could be a good option for you.

According to some experts, using medicines such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) can double your chances of quitting long term. The best place to start should be your GP as they will be able to advice or prescribe specific treatments for you to try. NRT won’t completely take away your urge to smoke, especially because, as explained in recent posts, half the difficulty is the daily habit of smoking and not just the drug contained in a cigarette. However NRT may be able to get you over the first hurdle and away from the initial strong withdrawal symptoms and give you a better fighting chance of staying off cigarettes.

The main types of NRT are lozenges, gum and nicotine patches, which are available without prescription over the counter in a pharmacy. I know someone that had an allergic reaction to the patches after a couple of weeks of using them – the area where it was stuck on her skin came out in an itchy red rash, however because this was after a couple of weeks she had got over the worst period of withdrawal and was ok after that. Other options include a nasal spray and an inhaler, but you need a prescription from your GP to get these, and they may want you to try the over the counter items first.

The last post talked about the reasons it’s hard to quit smoking; that it is a habit that becomes such a big part of everyday life that not smoking seems more abnormal once you quit, and because nicotine is a highly addictive drug that makes you crave more and more as you increase your frequency of smoking. These things make the journey from smoker to non-smoker seem impossible, and it’s hard to see the point of quitting at all, but here are a few good reasons to keep you focussed on the task:

You won’t be as broke!

A packet of 20 cigarettes now costs over £5, so if you have a 20 a day habit that amounts to over £1800 per year. You could go on an amazing holiday, buy loads of new things, or save for a new house with that!

You’ll be healthier, now and in the future

In the short term, stopping smoking will help you breathe better and give you more energy as well as improving your sense of taste and smell. The long term health benefits of quitting are endless: those who smoke are loads more likely to suffer with bad skin, heart problems, strokes and cancer.

You’ll be more attractive

This is both physically and socially – your teeth will be whiter, your skin more healthy looking and your breath will be better, but you’ll also be able to get through a night out without having to continually excuse yourself to go outside and smoke!

You’ll have better control of your life

The need to fit smoking into your day and think about when/where you will next be able to have a cigarette will be gone forever. You’ll also feel proud of your achievement and the knowledge that you can conquer an addiction will give you more confidence.

Quitting smoking is one of the hardest habits to beat, so if you’re unfortunate enough to have become hooked on cigarettes you’ll know how it feels to want to give up but feel like you just can’t. But why is it so hard?

As we all know, nicotine, the main drug in cigarettes, is highly addictive. It has the opposing qualities of making you feel calm and happy, but at the same time also being able to focus better because you feel more alert. It’s no wonder the feeling becomes addictive, but as with any drug, the more you have, the more you need to get to the same feeling, so the need for more cigarettes increases with time. If you try to quit, you can feel less normal without the nicotine that you did with it, and this can last for a long time, which is another reason that it is hard to give up.

An addition is based on a habit – the need to do something or take something continually, and this habit infests your life. This may be because you have a cigarette when you are in a particular mood, or doing a particular activity such as going out for a drink. The places or times when you would normally have a cigarette are called triggers and this is partly why it is hard to quit – because the triggers remain but you have to ignore them.

Does this information put you off quitting? It shouldn’t do because you have already decided to do something about your addiction or you wouldn’t be reading this page. What this information gives you is the recognition that you might feel strange as the nicotine gradually leaves your system, but this isn’t because your body needs it, it’s because you’ve spent a long time tricking your body into feeling as if it needs it. And with the knowledge that you will be confronted by different triggers, you can recognise them and create coping mechanisms to deal with how you feel and not succumb to temptation.

On 1st July 2007 it became illegal to smoke in indoor public places in England including pubs, clubs and workplaces. This was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation for a long time and was widely debated at the time with ferocious opposition to the bill from pro-smoking groups. We’re now two years on from then, so what effect has the ban had in the UK?

The health effects for workers in places where smoking would have been commonplace such as bars and pubs have unsurprisingly been dramatic. Research carried out just 3 months after the ban in October 2007 indicated that employees’ exposure to second hand smoke had dropped by 95%. Before the ban the type of second hand smoke exposure workers in bars would have was the equivalent of smoking 190 cigarettes a year!

This was a great benefit of the ban, but many owners and managers within the hospitality industry experienced a more negative impact of the ban due to fewer customers leading to losses in income. One area which suffered in particular was membership clubs, which is a group that have vigorously fought over the last two years to have the ban relaxed for these kinds of establishments in particular, with the introduction of ventilated smoking rooms, but this is unlikely.

There were sensational statistics about the effect of the ban on people quitting smoking – one statistic said the number of quitters trebled in the nine months after the ban, and another said that 400,000 people chose to quit in the first year of the ban – if this continues into the future the ban could save 40,000 lives. Perhaps this is the reason you have chosen to quit, and if so there’s no better reason – who wants to be isolated from their friends by having to go outside every time you want to have a cigarette? This might be ok in the warm weather we’re having now but I bet it’s not an inviting option in the middle of winter. Smoking has become more of a nuisance now that it is banned in public places, and this can be an encouragement to finally give it up for good. Social smoking can be one of the more difficult aspects to give up, but when you’re next out with friends and you feel like a smoke, think of the conversation you’ll miss out on and the probability that at some point you’ll be getting very wet and cold just to keep up a habit that’s now a bit of a social outcast.