If you’re a smoker who plans to give up the habit in the New Year, you might find these tips from the Island’s NHS team below helpful.
The team are also suggesting why wait until the New Year, when you could stop straight away.
Carol Foley, Smoking Cessation Service Lead for NHS Isle of Wight shares her 12 Tips of ‘Quit-mas’ – designed to provide step-by-step encouragement:
1. WHAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU – Find out about all of the free NHS services available to support you as you go smokefree. The Isle of Wight NHS provide a smokefree service, but if you are not sure where to start, call the Isle of Wight NHS Smoking Helpline on 01983-814280 where trained advisers can talk you through the options and help you to decide which would suit you best.
2. TAKE THE ADDICTION TEST – The NHS Smokefree addiction test will help you to understand the level of your current dependence on nicotine and help you prepare for going smokefree. Go to the SmokeFree Website and work out your own personal level of addiction.
3. MAKE A DATE – Research shows that the more prepared you are, the more likely you are to succeed in going smokefree. The first thing to do is choose a stress-free day to stop a few weeks from now. This gives you a day to aim for and time to prepare.
4. MAKE A PROMISE THIS CHRISTMAS – What better way to motivate yourself to stop smoking than to promise to quit for those who love and support you? By filling in the form on the Smokefree website, you will be making the first step to stopping smoking. You can also email your promise to a friend or family member and request for your commitment to quit to be listed on this site, making sure you have lots of inspiration to stay smokefree.
5. QUIT TOGETHER – The support provided by the Together Programme may be perfect for those with a busy lifestyle. It’s totally free and the NHS Stop Smoking Service helps you through each stage of the process. You get practical support, encouragement and advice including regular mail packs, emails, supportive text messages and phone calls. You can choose how you’d like to be contacted so the information comes in which ever way suits your lifestyle best.
6. SUPPORT AVAILABLE – Use nicotine replacement products or other stop smoking medicines to cope with the withdrawal symptoms. These are available on prescription from the NHS and a much cheaper option than buying them over the counter.
7. COUNT UP THE SAVINGS – Just imagine when you go smokefree, how much extra money will be in your pocket. The smokefree calculator will show you just how much money you could save in a year. Visit SmokeFree Website to work out just how much you could be saving – and spending this Christmas!
8. HEALTH TIMELINE – The first few days after you quit can be challenging but you’ll be amazed at how quickly your body starts to recover. The benefits start almost immediately – use the interactive timeline on the Smokefree website to see how your body improves after you stop smoking:
* After 20 minutes – Blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal”¦and you have saved 5.9p so far, so just keep going”¦
* After 8 hours – Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in blood reduce by half, oxygen levels return to normal”¦£1.42 saved – maybe not that much, but you can already feel the improvement in both pocket & body”¦
9. TAKE A DEEP BREATH – Use a carbon monoxide monitor to see for yourself how quickly your body recovers once you stop smoking. The NHS Isle of Wight Stop Smoking Service offers carbon monoxide monitoring as part of our stop smoking programmes – a great motivating tool to keep you going.
10. SPRING CLEAN YOUR HEALTH – Chuck out your ashtrays, matches and lighters and anything else you needed to smoke. Put potpourri where your ashtrays used to be – your home will smell fresher in no time at all.
11. CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE – Keep in mind that you have taken steps to positively improve your life in a variety ways by quitting smoking. Change your usual daily routine to counteract your old smoking triggers. Do something to help you relax such as taking a hot bath, exercise, or reading. Plan something enjoyable to do every day – you deserve it.
12. TAKE ONE DAY AT A TIME – Each day without a cigarette is good news for your health, your family and your pocket.
For help quitting, call Island Quitters on 01983-814280 or email [email protected] for free one-to-one or group-based advice. If you decide to make the first step to going smokefree this Christmas, then we’ll help you the rest of the way, visit SmokeFree Website.
Image: ndanger under CC BY-SA 2.0
