Tips to kick the smoking habit

More gatherings are taking place throughout the summer with friends and family meeting up for holidays and enjoying better weather. It's easy to slip back into bad habits as socialising escalates so here are some tips to help you refrain from smoking and continue to kick the habit. 

While willpower is required, you’re not alone and there are many areas of support available to you. Visit the ‘NHS quit smoking’ page for further information and details of the ‘Smokefree’ app which allows you to track your progress, get daily support and see how much you’re saving.

https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/

The British Lung Foundation also have some great advice and tips to help you stop, just follow the link below.

https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/smoking/how-can-i-quit

The damage that smoking causes to your health is heavily publicised. Add in the need for home oxygen/respiratory care is like taking another step back, increasing more pressure on your body and making day-to-day tasks a bigger challenge than they need to be. 

Cost

If the health benefits aren't enough of an incentive to try and quit smoking, perhaps the cost of it will help tip the balance. If you smoke around 10 cigarettes a day, you will be spending almost £2,000 per year.

Tip: Some people open a separate bank account when they quit and transfer the funds they would have spent on smoking into it - it's a visual reminder of how well you've done and can be used as a treat, holiday or even towards Christmas.

Outside personal finances, in 2018 the annual cost that smoking put on the NHS and social care services exceeded £2.5 billion. Jump forward a couple of years and pair that with the pressures the pandemic has had on the UK health services means that they are even more stretched than necessary, so giving up smoking helps your health and many others.