The Minster Practice, Lichfield

Smoking

Updated 14/04/2007

Every year, around 120,000 smokers in the UK die as a result of smoking, i.e. 1 death every 50 minutes. It is the largest single preventable cause of death in this country.
Smoking related diseases include heart & circulatory disorders, lung disease and various cancers. 1200 cases of malignant cancer of the cervix are linked to smoking.
Smoking shortens life span by 10-15 years.
One in every two lifelong smokers die prematurely from smoking related causes.
120,000 men between the ages of 30 and 50 are impotent as a direct result of smoking. 20 cigarettes per day increases risk of impotence by 40%.
Sperm are damaged by smoking leading to abnormalities in babies.
Female smokers have reduced chances of conception by 40%. Women who smoke in pregnancy reduce their baby's birth weight and damage their baby's health (including risk of cleft lip and palate). 5000 miscarriages a year are linked to smoking.
Smokers using the contraceptive pill are 20 times more likely to have a heart attack.

In 2003, smoking related deaths in British males were down more than 50% compared with 1973 as a result of a reduction in the number of smokers.

This section of the website includes the following key areas:

	NHS helpline & website
	NHS quick tips
	Lung cancer mortality
	Benefits of giving up smoking and when they happen
	Giving up is easy - No it's not
	Nicotine dependence
	Withdrawal symptoms
	Methods currently used to help giving up smoking
	Practice smoking cessation clinics

Information about the following is accessed via button on left:

	Nicotine replacement therapy
	Zyban (bupropion)

The NHS has a helpline which offers free advice and support to callers who are either giving up smoking, who intend to give up or who have given up and don't want to start again. Friends and families of smokers are also welcomed. 7000 smokers kick the habit every week. 70% of smokers want to give up but it can take 3 or 4 attempts in some cases. Don't give up giving up. The helpline number is:

0800 169 0 169

Textphone 0800 169 0 171

There is also a NHS website which provides the above support and also details of local Stop Smoking services:

http://www.givingupsmoking.co.uk

To find details of local NHS Stop Smoking services, you can also text GIVE UP and your full postcode to 88088.

NHS quick tips

Getting through the first days:

	If you need to put something in your mouth, try sugar free chewing gum - keep it healthy and non-fattening.
	If you need to do something with your hands, find something to fiddle with - a pencil, coin or ring. Anything but a cigarette.
	Try drinking juice or eating fruit when you feel like having a cigarette.
	Be sensible with alcohol. A few drinks can make you "forget" you've given up.

Congratulate yourself - every day without cigarettes is an achievement!!

Lung cancer mortality rate

The link between smoking and lung cancer was first identified by Professor Sir Richard Doll in 1950. The bad news now is that his estimate of the number of deaths from smoking related lung cancer was too low. 3 times that number have died. The good news is that, FOR LUNG CANCER alone, giving up smoking before the age of 35 almost eliminates the excess risk of death from lung cancer. Giving up at older ages also significantly reduces the death rate; at age 50 by almost two thirds. If another smoking related disease has not killed you by age 60, your chances of living to age 70 are much increased by giving up. So Don't Give Up Giving Up!!

The benefits of giving up smoking and when they happen:

20 minutes	Blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal. Circulation improves in hands and feet.
8 hours	Oxygen levels in the blood return to normal. Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in the blood reduce by half. Chances of a heart attack start to fall.
24 hours	Carbon monoxide is eliminated from the body. The lungs start to clear out mucus and other smoking debris.
48-72 hours	Nicotine is no longer detectable in the body. The senses of taste and smell start to improve.
72 hours	Breathing becomes easier as the bronchial tubes relax. Energy levels increase.
2-12 weeks	Circulation improves throughout the body making walking easier.
3-9 months	Breathing problems (e.g. coughing, shortness of breath and wheezing) improve. Overall lung function improves by 5-10%.
5 years	Risk of heart attack has fallen to half that of a smoker.
10 years	Risk of lung cancer has fallen to half that of a smoker. Risk of heart attack has fallen to the same level as someone who has never smoked.

Giving up is easy
No it is not!!
Regular smokers have 2 habits. The first is a psychological link to smoking, e.g. with alcoholic drink, whilst using the telephone, in the car, after a meal etc. The second is the powerful physical addiction to nicotine which is probably more addictive than heroin. The power is increased by the additives used by cigarette companies.
But Don't give up giving up. We have relaxation tapes in our patient library if you think you will benefit.

Nicotine dependence

Nicotine, along with harmful gases and cancer causing compounds, is absorbed quickly into the blood and "hits" the brain in less than 15 seconds. The drug produces feelings of well being, calm and alertness which, like any addiction, leads to the body craving another "fix" when the drug levels fall. Withdrawal symptoms start after a couple of hours, peak after a few days and can persist for several weeks. "Just one cigarette" is the downfall of many quitters as the unpleasant withdrawal symptoms lead to a return to previous smoking levels.

Withdrawal symptoms include:

	early morning cravings
	irritability, impatience and hostility
	anxiety
	depressed mood
	difficulty concentrating
	restlessness
	decreased heart rate
	increased appetite or weight gain

Methods currently used to give up smoking

The majority of smokers (52%) give up using willpower alone. Using a drug to give up a drug is not acceptable to them.

25% use complementary remedies such as hypnosis, acupuncture, herbal preparations etc.

23% use nicotine replacement therapy or other drugs.

Smoking Cessation Clinics

Team members have been specially trained to support those giving up smoking. The message from the team is:

"We know giving up smoking is not easy so we have set up smoking cessation groups to support you through this difficult time. Whether you choose willpower alone, nicotine replacement therapy or Zyban, you will be made very welcome. Small groups (up to 12 people) meet weekly over a 6 week period. If you telephone the local Quitline number, you will be offered a place at one of the Lichfield health centres."

Telephone 01827 306 245 for an appointment or email time4achange@blt-pct.nhs.uk

Smoking and the wrinkles of age

US students were photographed and the photographs were subjected to virtual ageing using software employed in forensic science. 30 years were added in 2 scenarios. The first assuming not smoking and the second based on smoking 20/day. The demonstration was powerful with the wrinkles producing stunned silence. Perhaps this approach may be a useful shock therapy. (Tobacco Control 2003; 12:238)

Child smokers to be given nicotine patches on NHS

Source: The Times Date: 30/12/2005
Children as young as twelve will be eligible for NHS nicotine replacement therapy to help them stop smoking, after a safety review of nicotine patches and gum ruled that the products were safe for use by those under 18 and pregnant women. The Department of Health, which is working with the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency on availability of the patches, has claimed the decision came after the Committee on the Safety of Medicines concluded that there were certain groups for whom it was important to give up smoking immediately.

Heart attack danger in passive smoking

Source: The Times Date: 18/8/2006
People exposed to cigarette smoke for as little as an hour a day increase their risk of a heart attack by almost a quarter. The Interheart study, published in The Lancet, found that those exposed to three hours of passive smoke daily increased their risk by more than 60%. The research looked at the experience of 27,000 people in 52 countries, measuring tobacco exposure, active and passive, and found that all increase the risk of cardiac arrest. Heart attacks were three times as common in smokers than in people who had never smoked. Every cigarette smoked per day added 5.6% to the risk, rising 1.63 times for people smoking one to nine cigarettes a day, increasing to 9.16 times for those who smoked 40 or more.