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10 January 2012 11:47
health and fitness
Take steps to stop smoking today
Did you make it one of your New Year's Resolutions to stop smoking for good? Finding it hard? Follow the NHS' advice and you may be able to cut out the habit for good.
Here are some practical, quick and simple steps you can take straight away to quit smoking:
Talk to your GP. Many people don't realise that their GP can help them quit smoking. But your doctor can do a lot, such as enrolling you in a 'stop smoking' clinic and prescribing nicotine replacement therapy such as patches and gum, or stop smoking medication.
Join an NHS Stop Smoking Service. The NHS has stop smoking services staffed by trained advisers all over the country in a range of venues at times to suit you. You can join a group where local smokers meet once a week or have one-to-one support if you prefer. You usually go for a few weeks and work towards a quit date. Find your nearest NHS Stop Smoking Service from the NHS Smokefree website, or call 0800 022 4332.
Get a free 'Quit Kit' from a local pharmacy. The kit is packed with practical tools and advice to help you stop smoking, including a 'tangle' to keep hands busy, a wallchart to keep track of your progress, stress-busting MP3 downloads, information on medicines that can help you stop smoking and exercises to improve your willpower.
Get a 'cheerleader' and do it together. Sign up for the NHS Smokefree Together Programme and you'll receive a supportive phone call, email and text the week before you quit, the day you quit and the following week.
Have an emergency number, perhaps for your local NHS Stop Smoking Service. "We’re here from 7am to 11pm every day answering calls from people who are about to have a cigarette and want help not lighting up," says Chris, one of the helpline advisers. "We can talk about why you want to smoke and how to deal with your cravings."
Consider using NRT. Nicotine is addictive, and self-control alone might not be enough. Give yourself a better chance of success by using nicotine replacement therapy. This is available either free or on prescription from your GP, depending on where you live or from your local NHS Stop Smoking Service.
Find your nearest NHS Stop Smoking Service from the NHS Smokefree website, or call 0800 022 4332. Or, you can buy nicotine patches and gum over the counter from a pharmacy.
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