Frequently asked questions

It's never too late! Stopping at any age will increase your life expectancy, provided that you stop before you develop cancer or another serious disease.

• Within the first 24 hours your blood pressure and lungs will be showing improvement.
• After three months your circulation and breathing should have improved noticeably.
• After five years, your risk of having a heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker.
• After ten years, your risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker.

Explore our health timeline to see how your health would improve when you go smokefree.

When you go smokefree, your appetite and sense of taste may improve, tempting you to snack more often.

Make sure you have plenty of healthy snacks, like fruit or nuts, in the house and hide the crisps!

Any weight gain need only be temporary. Once you've stopped smoking, you'll find it easier to be active and lose any extra weight.

For more information contact the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 022 4 332

Being prepared and choosing a smokefree plan that works for you will create an ideal foundation for giving up smoking.

Take time to make sure that you are physically, mentally and emotionally ready and plan how and when you will give up.

Choose a quit date and commit to it. Think about how to deal with tempting situations like going to the pub, or a stressful day. You could also speak to your doctor about nicotine patches and gum to help you cope with the cravings.

You can speak to an adviser over the phone, go to face-to-face meetings, get one-to-one local advice or join the Smokefree Together programme for information and advice via post, text and email.

You can try nicotine replacement products or medication to help you cope with withdrawal symptoms. There are also lots of useful tools on this website that can help you get started on your journey towards becoming smokefree.

Call the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 022 4 332. They can help you decide on the best way to quit and provide information about your nearest services.

From the moment you stop smoking your body starts its recovery process. During this you may find that you experience some nicotine withdrawal and recovery symptoms. You may notice that you still have the urge to smoke, feel a little restless, irritable, frustrated or tired; some people also find that they have difficulty sleeping or concentrating. Be assured, these symptoms will pass and there are plenty of things you can do to manage your symptoms in the meantime. You can find out more about managing withdrawal and recovery symptoms by accessing the following section below.

Remember to try and stay focussed on the positive effects of stopping smoking like the amount of money you will save, no cigarette smells and the improvements to your health. You can see how your body repairs itself by using our health timeline. Focusing on the positives will help you to stay smokefree while the withdrawal and recovery symptoms pass.

If you would like further information or to speak to someone about your own recovery and withdrawal symptoms please call the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 169 0 169.

If you want to talk to an expert about the best way to manage your symptoms, click here and chat online now

Nicotine Replacement Therapy and other stop smoking medicines like Zyban or Champix can really help you to manage your cravings, all of these are available on prescription from your doctor.

More information about stop smoking medicines.

Everyone has their own way of coping with cravings - try and make plans that suit you and the way you have chosen to quit smoking.

You could take up exercise or arrange to go out with a friend, or simply go for a walk.

Take long, deep breaths when you are experiencing an intense craving and avoid tea, coffee and alcohol during the first few days of stopping smoking.

Make use of the ways to quit and the tools and advice that are available to support and motivate you as you go smokefree.

See what suits me? for further advice and support.

If you do have a cigarette, you should stop again immediately.

Throw away the rest of the packet and take yourself out of the situation. Go for a walk, drink some water, or take a deep breath. Ask yourself if you really want to be a smoker again.

If you start again, don't worry. You haven't failed. You have improved your chance of success next time. It takes most people four or five attempts before they go smokefree for good.

See what suits me? for further advice and support.

If you've tried before and it didn't work out don't worry. You haven't failed, you have just given yourself more practice for the next time you quit.

Research has shown that the more attempts you have made in the past, the more likely you are to succeed in the future. This is because every time you are getting more experienced in how to quit.

Next time you quit spend a little longer planning. The preparation you do up front can make all the difference.

See What suits me? for further advice and support.

It's hard to persuade someone to stop smoking. They really have to decide for themselves that they want to give up. But, giving them encouragement and support can really help.

Explain to the person that you are worried about their health. You can talk to them about this website and about finding a way to quit that works for them. Information about different ways to quit.

Encourage the person to visit this website, speak to their doctor or to call the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 022 4 332 for further advice and support.

There are lots of brilliant reasons for going smokefree. Perhaps some of these might be helpful …

• Risk of having a heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker five years after quitting.
• Risk of getting cancer drops with every year of not smoking.
• Setting a good example to the children.
• Having more money to spend on other things.
• Living longer - half of long-term smokers die early and lose about 16 years of life.
• Better skin, fewer wrinkles and fresher breath.

Smoking causes many serious and fatal diseases including lung cancer, heart disease, bronchitis and emphysema. It also causes many other cancers, respiratory diseases, strokes and can affect fertility.

Cigarettes contain over 4,000 toxic chemicals and around 50 of these cause cancer.

• Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas in cigarette smoke. It is also found in car exhaust fumes and produced by faulty gas appliances. It takes the place of oxygen in the blood, causing your lungs to work less efficiently. This stops cells all around your body from getting the oxygen they need.
• Tar is the sticky brown substance which stains your fingers and teeth. Tar causes cancer and damages your lungs. It stays inside your lungs, making tubes narrower and reducing your protection against infection.

Explore our interactive body to see the damage caused to each area of your body.

Cigarettes contain over 4,000 toxic chemicals and around 50 of these cause cancer. The three main toxins are nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar.

Some other chemicals found in cigarettes are:

• Acetone - Nail polish remover
• Ammonia - Toilet cleaner
• Arsenic - Rat poison
• Benzo(a)pyrene - Diesel exhaust fumes
• Carbon Monoxide - Petrol exhaust fumes
• DDT and Dieldrin - Insecticides
• Formaldehyde - Preservative for dead bodies
• Hydrogen Cyanide - Poison used in gas chambers
• Methanol - Rocket fuel
• Titanium - Metal used to make aeroplanes

For more information contact the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 022 4 332

No. If you smoke 'light', 'mild' or 'low tar' cigarettes you are likely to inhale as much tar, nicotine and other poisons as those people who smoke regular cigarettes. The use of these misleading descriptions was banned from cigarette packaging in the EU in September 2003.

For more information about 'light' and 'mild' cigarettes visit www.lowtarexposed.org

Secondhand smoke is other people's tobacco smoke. Wherever people smoke, there is secondhand smoke in the air.

Secondhand smoke contains:

• Side stream smoke -smoke from the tip of the cigarette.
• Mainstream smoke -smoke that is breathed back out by the smoker.

Read more about secondhand smoke.

Breathing in secondhand smoke can damage almost every organ in the human body. It increases the risk of lung cancer by 24% and heart disease by 25%.

Secondhand smoke is very dangerous for children because their bodies are still developing. Cot death is twice as likely for babies whose mothers smoke. Children who grow up in a smoking household are much more likely to suffer from asthma, middle ear infections, coughs, colds and wheezes.

Read more about secondhand smoke.

People exposed to secondhand smoke face the same dangers as smokers themselves. They breathe in the same poisonous gases and toxic chemicals so suffer from the same health risks.

Read more about secondhand smoke

Tobacco smoke contains thousands of toxic chemicals. These poisons get into the bodies of children who live with smokers.

Babies and children who grow up in a smoky atmosphere are:

• Twice as likely to have asthma attacks and chest infections.
• More likely to need hospital care before their first birthday.
• Off sick from school more often.
• More likely to get more coughs, colds and wheezes.

Medical research also shows they have:

• Much higher risk of cot death than the children of non-smokers.
• Increased risk of meningitis.
• More chance of getting ear infections and 'glue ear', which can lead to partial deafness.

Read more about secondhand smoke.

Nicotine products such as patches and gum are often called Nicotine Replacement Therapy, or NRT for short. They help you to deal with nicotine withdrawal cravings, and double your chances of successfully going smokefree.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) gives your body nicotine without the harmful effects of smoking or chewing tobacco. The idea is to gradually reduce your addiction by using a low nicotine dose to take the edge off the cravings.

More information on using and getting access to nicotine replacement products

There are many options available in addition to nicotine patches and gum, including microtabs (small tablets), lozenges, nasal sprays and inhalators.

More information on using and getting access to nicotine replacement products

Nicotine Replacement Therapy is suitable for most people, but you should check with your doctor if you are pregnant, have a heart or circulatory condition, or if you take regular medication. It is not suitable for under 12s.

More information on using and getting access to nicotine replacement products

For more information call the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 022 4 332

Most pregnant women can use NRT. It's important to talk it through with your doctor or midwife first. They can help you to weigh up the risks of continuing to smoke against the benefits of stopping using NRT. Using NRT is safer than smoking because it doesn't contain poisons like tar or carbon monoxide.

NRT is safer than smoking because NRT doesn't contain poisons like tar or carbon monoxide.

More information on smoking and pregnancy and getting access to nicotine replacement products

No. Damage to the health of a smoker is caused by the tar, carbon monoxide, and over 4,000 toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke. Nicotine Replacement Therapy products help to reduce the nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms without these harmful poisons.

More information on using and getting access to nicotine replacement products

Nicotine Replacement Therapy products are available on prescription, as well as to buy over the counter, so it doesn't have to be expensive to go smokefree.

The NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 022 4 332 can give you advice on how to get NRT on prescription.

More information on using and getting access to nicotine replacement products

Zyban is a medicine that alters the way your body responds to nicotine. You start taking Zyban a couple of weeks before you quit and then continue the treatment to help you through the withdrawal cravings. Zyban is only available on prescription.

More information on using and getting access to stop smoking medicines

Champix is a stop smoking medicine that is only available on prescription. Champix works by reducing your craving for a cigarette and by reducing the effects you feel if you do have a cigarette. You set a date to stop smoking, and start taking tablets 1 or 2 weeks before this date. Treatment normally lasts for 12 weeks.

More information on using and getting access to stop smoking medicines

When you smoke, carbon monoxide gets into your bloodstream and cuts down the oxygen reaching your baby.

Health risks of smoking when pregnant include:

• More complications during your pregnancy and labour.
• Increased risk of miscarriage, bleeding and sickness.
• Slower growth of your baby.
• Increased risk of premature birth or stillbirth.

Health risks for your baby …

• Lower birth weight and weakness.
• Higher chance of cot death.
• Damage to airways which could cause breathing problems or asthma.

For more information contact the NHS Smoking Pregnancy Helpline on 0800 169 9 169, open daily from 9am-8pm Mon-Fri and 11am-5pm on Sat and Sun.

Being pregnant is the ideal time to go smokefree.

If you smoke during your pregnancy, or if people smoke near you, you will breathe in thousands of toxic chemicals. These chemicals cut down the amount of oxygen reaching your baby and can cause:

• Increased chance of miscarriage or stillbirth.
• Lower birth weight and under development.
• Higher risk of cot death.
• Damage to airways which could cause breathing problems or asthma.

For more information contact the NHS Smoking Pregnancy Helpline on 0800 169 9 169

Smoking is harmful throughout your pregnancy and stopping at any stage will be better for your baby.

The good news is that the most damaging affects of smoking happen in months four to nine, so if you quit within the first three months of your pregnancy, your baby is likely to be a healthy weight.

For more information contact the NHS Smoking Pregnancy Helpline on 0800 169 9 169, daily from 12noon until 9pm.

If your family or friends smoke near you, you will breathe in thousand of toxic chemicals.

Your baby will be at increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, under development and cot death. Your partner, family and friends can all help you by making sure that they don't smoke when you are around. You could even ask them to go smokefree too!

For more information contact the NHS Smoking Pregnancy Helpline on 0800 169 9 169, daily from 12noon until 9pm.

Most pregnant women can use NRT. It's important to talk it through with your doctor or midwife first. They can help you to weigh up the risks of continuing to smoke against the benefits of stopping using NRT. Using NRT is safer than smoking because it doesn't contain poisons like tar or carbon monoxide.

More information on smoking and pregnancy and getting access to Nicotine replacement products

Our trained advisers understand the issues involved during pregnancy and can give you confidential advice. They can also send you a free information pack and tell you about your nearest NHS Stop Smoking Service.

For more information contact the NHS Smoking Pregnancy Helpline on 0800 169 9 169, daily from 12noon until 9pm.

Chewing tobacco in paan makes you five times more likely to get oral cancer.

Many families enjoy chewing tobacco in paan at home. You don't need to spoil this tradition by stopping the ritual altogether - try chewing paan without the tobacco in it. This is much safer and you won't be putting yourself or your family at risk.

More information about South Asian tobacco use

A wide range of services are designed to enable you to go smokefree.

The NHS Asian Tobacco Helpline gives you one-to-one support in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Gujarati or Bengali. There are also nearly 200 local NHS Stop Smoking Services, offering one-to-one meetings and group discussions with trained advisers.

Specialist language leaflets are available to download and our specialist language helplines are open from 1pm until 9pm every Tuesday.

Call us on Tuesdays between 1pm and 9pm:

Urdu - 0800 169 0 881

Punjabi - 0800 169 0 882

Hindi - 0800 169 0 883

Gujarati - 0800 169 0 884

Bengali - 0800 169 0 885