National No Smoking Day
Your time to quit?
No Smoking Day is an annual health awareness day in the United Kingdom which is intended to help smokers who want to quit smoking – No Smoking Day is on the 14th March.
It’s not recent news that smoking is bad for our health, the NHS states that “Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK”.
Every year around 100,000 people in the UK die from smoking, with many more living with debilitating smoking-related illnesses.
Smoking increases your risk of developing more than 50 serious health conditions. Some may be fatal and others can cause irreversible long-term damage to your health.
Despite this, an estimated 7.6 million adults smoke in the UK, Scottish smokers make up 17.7% of this total. *2016 office for national statistics data
If you stop smoking it can have a number of benefits, including;
Breathe more easily – lung capacity increases by 10% in 9 months of quitting
More energy – blood circulation improves in 2 to 12 weeks
Improved smell & taste – your mouth and nose are dulled by hundreds of toxic chemicals when smoking
Younger looking skin – the skin of a non-smoker gets more nutrients, including oxygen
Live longer – being smoke free not only adds years to your life but greatly increases your chances of a disease free, mobile, happier old age. *NHS
If you smoke, and would like help to quit, the NHS has a number of resources available. These include;
Talk to your GP – they can enrol you in a ‘stop smoking clinic’ and may be able to to prescribe replacement therapy, eg patches and gum.
Visiting your local pharmacy – local community pharmacies provide a free stop smoking service.
Quit your way Scotland – phone or chat online with a trained adviser, 0800 848 484 or visit their website.
Find out more