Lancashire-based stop-smoking organisation, Quit Squad, is urging smokers in the UK to kick this unhealthy habit. The month-long initiative dubbed Stoptober encourages smokers to quit in its eleventh year.
Stoptober provides free resources to help smokers find the best support mix, including professional and stop-smoking assistance. Among the most crucial things people do to protect their health is to stop smoking.
Tips on how to quit smoking
Many smokers are trying to quit, and over the past year, around 36.6% attempted to kick the habit. Here are tips for quitting smoking shared by STOP smoking expert Louise Ross.
Write down the motivation for quitting smoking: This is the initial step in keeping yourself motivated and giving yourself something to turn to when things become challenging.
Use stop smoking tools: The NHS offers resources and support to smokers to help them quit smoking. Some aids include chewing gums, advice, nasal spray and nicotine patches that help them stop smoking.
Inform family and friends: keep your family and friends informed about plans to stop smoking. This will make them aware of your goal, and they may support you. In addition, you could get someone who is also looking to quit so that you join forces to stop.
Follow Stoptober: you can follow Stoptober on Facebook; this community will help you in your journey. In addition, people share their experiences and struggles in the quitting journey, which can be encouraging and motivate you to stick to your goals.
Break smoking routines: you can turn to other hobbies if you get smoking cravings. For example, try listening to music or taking a walk.
Why you should stop smoking
Quitting smoking can help improve one’s health. According to the CDC, quitting can improve your health irrespective of how long you have been smoking or one’s age. Besides improving health status and quality of life, quitting can reduce premature death risk and increase life expectancy by ten years, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic pulmonary disease and poor reproductive health.
