Stopping Smoking Advice

Many people consider stopping smoking and it may be something you decide to do while at University. The first step to stopping smoking is actually wanting to quit. Below are some frequently asked questions to help you decide if now is the right time for you to become a non smoker.

If you require further information please book an appointment with one of our advisors in The Source and we will do our best to help you out.

FAQs

• I am thinking about stopping smoking, what will the benefits be?

  Everyone decides to stop smoking for personal reasons but there are a number of benefits that all people will experience:

  • You will have improved health: reduced risk of cancer, improved fertility, easier breathing.
  • You will have more money as will not be spending it on cigarettes. For example, a person who smokes on average 20 cigarettes a day will spend nearly £200 a month. What could you spend this on?
  • You will be able to taste better.
  • The appearance of your skin will improve.
  • You will have an improved social life as you will not need to keep going out to have a cigarette while your friends are inside.

• I have tried quitting before, is there any point trying again?

  Yes, you should be proud that you previously tried and it may have been that the support or products you used in that attempt were not the suitable to help you quit for good. With the help of an advisor you will work together to look at your smoking routing, lifestyle and look at products which are more likely to help you succeed this time round.

• I previously used patches but these did not stop me wanting to smoke, what other products are available?

  There are a large number of products that are now available to people wanting to stop smoking. Not all products are suitable for everyone and with an advisor you would look at your suitability to certain ones, which you have previously tried, which would fit in best with your lifestyle and how much you smoke.

  Examples of products available are:

  • Patches (24 and 16 hour ones available)
  • Gum
  • Nasal spray
  • Inhalator
  • Lozenge
  • Mini lozenge
  • Microtabs
  • Mouth spray
  • Zyban
  • Champix

  Zyban and champix are not products that you can buy over the counter; they have to be prescribed by your GP after they have assessed your suitability.

  With some products you can also have ‘dual therapy’ where you will use two products at the same time.

  For in depth information on these products please go to the stopping smoking ‘useful links’ page.

• If I stop smoking what withdrawal symptoms might I experience?

  There are number of potential symptoms you may experience but these will only be for a short period of time (1-4 weeks) while your body readjusts to not having nicotine in its system. Potential symptoms include:

  • Irritability
  • Restlessness
  • Poor concentration
  • Urges to smoke
  • Constipation
  • Cold symptoms and mouth ulcers

• What is a cigarette actually made up of?

  There are 3 main components of a cigarette:

  • Nicotine – This is a drug which causes the addiction to smoking but does not cause cancer.
  • Carbon monoxide – An odourless, colourless gas which affects the bloods ability to carry oxygen.
  • Tar – This is the name given to all of the other chemicals in the smoke particles, once inhaled 70% of the tar is deposited into the lungs.

  Tests on cigarettes have shown that there are also over 4000 other chemicals found in a cigarette:

  • Arsenic
  • Formaldehyde
  • Methanol
  • Acetone
  • Polonium 210

• When I feel stressed smoking makes me feel calmer, why is this?

  There is no evidence that smoking reduces people’s stress, in fact, people generally report that after the initial first few weeks they feel less stressed than when they were smoking.

  It has been suggested that the act of smoking takes you away from the actual cause of the stress, so this may be why people believe smoking helps with stress. For example, if you are having an argument with a flat mate and you go outside to smoke you will instantly feel better as you won’t be arguing anymore.

• Where can I go for support to stop smoking?

  There are a number of services that you can access for support:

  • The Source has an advisor who is an NHS trained associate advisor who can support you in stopping smoking. To book an appointment please see the main page of our website.
  • Fresh Start (NHS) Derby – These are trained advisors who can help you through your journey of stopping smoking for good, to find your nearest centre please go to the stopping smoking ‘useful links’ section of the website.
  • Your GP
  • Pharmacies, a large number of pharmacies now offer stop smoking services just go in and ask at your local one.

• What will happen if I decide to get support for stopping smoking?

  You will start by having a ‘pre quit assessment’ which normally takes around half an hour and in this appointment your advisor will:

  • Assess your readiness to quit
  • Explain the treatment programme
  • Complete an initial monitoring form
  • Explore previous attempts to quit and assess your nicotine dependence
  • Discuss withdrawal symptoms
  • Discuss and set a quit date – The aim is that from the quit day onwards you do not smoke at all.

  You will then have a follow up on or around your quit date which will be around 15-30 minutes, during this appointment the advisor will:

  • Check you have quit as agreed
  • Confirm you have your medication
  • Discuss cravings you may be having
  • Identify if there are any events happening that may cause you to lapse and look at how you could cope with these.

  You will then have three 15 minute appointments over the next 3 weeks where:

  • Your progress will be checked
  • You will discuss any withdrawal symptoms
  • You will discuss if you are feeling any benefits

  You will then have a 4 week follow up which will be very similar to the previous weeks, by this point you should be feeling a number of effects and not really feeling the need to smoke anymore. You will discuss lowering or stopping your medication and from this point will no longer have weekly meeting. Support will still be available though!

Useful Downloads

• Fresh Start Stop Smoking Leaflet
• NHS Useful Downloads Page

Useful Links

• Stopping smoking for the first time
• Trying again to stop smoking
• Real life stories from people who have quit smoking
• Smoking - Frequently Asked Questions
• Smoking and pregnancy
• Fathers and smoking
• Cost calculator
• Local stop smoking services
• Ask an advisor
• Addiction test
• Order a free ‘Quit kit’
• Why quit?
• Find your willpower
• Fresh Start Derby – Where is my nearest centre?