Ready, Steady Stop How you can stop smoking for Stoptober

We’ve gathered together all the advice you need to help you finally quit smoking during Stoptober…

If you’re a smoker, you don’t need to be told how addictive your habit is – or how impossible it can be to break that addiction – but in case you need any extra motivation to get you through Stoptober, it may be worth reminding yourself of all the brilliant benefits to be had once you get tobacco-free.

It’s not just about breathing more easily and coughing less – although that will happen, because your lung capacity will improve by up to 10% within nine months.

Much sooner than that you’ll notice you have more energy because your blood circulation starts to improve two weeks after stopping smoking, making walking easier, and also boosting your immune system so you’re less likely to get a cold this winter.

Another benefit of improved circulation is that your sex life could take a turn for the better – you can expect better orgasms, and your man’s likely to be less prone to erectile dysfunction, after giving up smoking!

If you need even more reasons to give up, your sense of smell and taste will improve as your mouth and nose are no longer dulled by the hundreds of toxic chemicals in cigarettes.

Your skin will start to glow too – because, as a non-smoker, you’ll be getting more nutrients and oxygen into your system. What’s not to love? During last year’s Stoptober campaign 16% of all smokers set out to quit their habit, though of course not all of them were successful.

Even so, there are now nearly twice as many ex-smokers as current smokers across England, says Rosanna O’Connor, Director of Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco for Public Health England. “But that still leaves 7.6 million people across the UK who are regularly lighting up – and smoking is the biggest cause of preventable early death, with over 100,000 deaths a year. If you’re a smoker, giving up is the best thing you can do for your health – so see if Stoptober can help you quit for good.”