If you take antidepressants or antipsychotic medicines, talk to your GP or psychiatrist before you stop smoking. The dosage you take may need to be monitored and the amount you need to take could be reduced. This is because smoking can reduce the levels of some medications in the blood, so you may need a lower dose when you quit.
Think about your relationship with smoking. Write down what you will gain by not smoking, such as better physical health, fresher breath, improved concentration and more money to spend on other things. Stopping smoking can be easier with the support of family and friends.
If you live with people who smoke, or have friends who smoke, suggest to them that you give up together. If other household members smoke, encourage them not to smoke around you or leave their cigarettes, ashtrays or lighters where you will see them. Some things people find helpful are meditation and breathing exercises, regular exercise, cutting down on alcohol, eating a well-balanced diet, acupuncture and hypnosis. Counselling or simply talking to a supportive friend, family member or religious or spiritual leader can also help.
They offer free one-to-one or group support along with stop smoking medicines. You usually go for a few weeks before you quit, then once a week for four weeks after your last cigarette.
They may enrol you in a stop smoking clinic, or prescribe nicotine replacement therapy or stop smoking medicine. Nicotine replacement therapy NRT , anti-depressants and other medication have all been shown to help smokers without mental health problems to stop smoking and they may also be helpful for people with depression or schizophrenia.
NRT appears to be more effective when combined with a talking therapy. You could also consider e-cigarettes. Talk to your doctor, a pharmacist or a health visitor about which treatments might be suitable for you. Individual, group or telephone counselling can help people to stop smoking. Talking therapies can help people change their behaviour by thinking and acting more positively. Many counselling programmes use the techniques of cognitive behavioural therapy CBT and social skills development.
Do not get high at the expense of social interaction. Do get high with your significant other. Do listen to excellent music and eat excellent food. Do share your stash, as such generosity is always appreciated and often rewarded. Secondhand smoke comes from the tip of a lit cigarette and the smoke that the smoker breathes out. Breathing in secondhand smoke, also known as passive smoking, increases your risk of getting the same health conditions as smokers.
For example, if you have never smoked but you have a spouse who smokes, your risk of developing lung cancer increases by about a quarter. A child who's exposed to passive smoke is at increased risk of developing chest infections, meningitis , a persistent cough and, if they have asthma , their symptoms will get worse.
They're also at increased risk of cot death and an ear infection called glue ear. Read more about passive smoking. If you smoke when you're pregnant, you put your unborn baby's health at risk, as well as your own.
Read more about stopping smoking in pregnancy. Your GP can give you information and advice on quitting smoking. You can also call the NHS Smokefree helpline on
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