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text QUIT to 66777
Evidence continues to emerge about the risk of more severe symptoms of COVID-19 to patients who smoke. The Kings College COVID-19 Symptom Tracker Study has analysed data from 1.5m people across the UK which has indicated that smoking significantly increases the risk of self- diagnosed COVID-19 classical risk symptoms by about 26%.
https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/smoking-and-covid-19Smokers are 40% more likely to experience more severe symptoms, and 2.4 times more likely to require intensive care and treatment with a ventilator.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7083240/NICE have issued NG168 which underlines the need to strongly encourage COPD patients who smoke to stop. As well as the known physical health benefits of quitting, a Public Health England, Health Matters report has highlighted that the positive changes in mental health after quitting smoking, improved positive mood and psychological quality of life.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-smoking-and-mental-health/health-matters-smoking-and-mental-healthAnalysis of survey data by YouGov and Action on Smoking and Health shows that as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 27% of smokers say they are more likely to quit, over one third of smokers have cut down, whilst 2% (~300,000) have quit completely. However, nearly 1 in 10 smokers (over half a million) in England have failed a quit attempt during the COVID-19 lockdown, highlighting the importance of access to specialist support to maximise quit attempts.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/04/more-than-300000-uk-smokers-may-have-quit-owing-to-covid-19Stopping smoking is so important in protecting the health of others. Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of complications from respiratory infections in both adults and children. Therefore, when we are at home during the lockdown, it is really important to protect others from the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke.
Prof Robert West, Director of Tobacco Studies at University College London, on the best ways of quitting for COVID-19. He said: “The key is to keep trying, no matter how many times you’ve tried in the past. It really is like rolling dice because there’s such a lot of luck involved in it. All of the evidence is telling us that it really doesn’t matter how many times you’ve tried before; it makes no difference to your chances of success this time.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dismissed claims that ‘smoking reduces the risk of COVID-19’ and has urged smokers to quit amid the worldwide pandemic. Their advice comes shortly after a study at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris suggested that nicotine may offer some protection to smokers from contracting COVID-19.
Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of:
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If your partner or anyone else who lives with you smokes, their smoke can affect you and the baby both before and after birth. You may also find it more difficult to stop if someone around you smokes.
Second-hand smoke can also reduce birthweight and increase the risk of cot death. Babies whose parents smoke are more likely to be admitted to hospital for bronchitis and pneumonia during the first year of life. More than 17,000 children under the age of five are admitted to hospital every year because of the effects of second-hand smoke.
Smoking is the main cause of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is the name for a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airways disease. At least 4 out of 5 people who develop the disease are, or have been, smokers. The lining of the airways becomes inflamed and permanently damaged by smoking. This damage cannot be reversed. Around 10-25% of smokers develop COPD.
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Smoking is by far the most important preventable cause of cancer in the world. Smoking accounts for one in four UK cancer deaths, and nearly a fifth of all cancer cases.
Smoking causes more than four in five cases of lung cancer. Lung cancer has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers, and is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK. Smoking also increases the risk of over a dozen other cancers. The good news is that most of these deaths are preventable, by giving up smoking.
The fact is that half of all smokers eventually die from cancer, or other smoking-related illnesses. A quarter of smokers die in middle age, between 35 and 69.
Tobacco smoke contains more than 70 different cancer causing substances. When you inhale smoke, these chemicals enter your lungs and spread around the rest of your body.
Scientists have shown that these chemicals can damage DNA and change important genes. This causes cancer by making your cells grow and multiply out of control.
Thanks to research, health campaigns and new policies, the number of smokers in the UK has halved in the last 50 years. Because of this, the number of people who die from lung cancer has also halved. Clearly, giving up smoking saves lives
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When you go smoke free, your appetite may increase and sense of taste may improve.
The average weight gain after quitting smoking is roughly around 3kg.
This is a normal response to the removal of nicotine from your diet.
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One of the most important things you can do to speed up your recovery is to quit smoking. You may be having surgery in the coming months and now is the time to be thinking about stopping smoking before your operation.
Within the first hour, your blood pressure and pulse will return to normal. After eight hours the level of carbon monoxide in your blood will half and your oxygen levels will return to normal. After 24 hours the carbon monoxide leaves your body and within 48hrs your body is nicotine free. After just a few weeks you will start to notice your food tastes better, your lungs are clearer and you have more energy. Within 12 weeks your circulation is now improved throughout your body.
How long before the Op should you stop?
The sooner you stop before the op the better. Research suggests that stopping one month before surgery can make a great difference to the speed you recover and get back to good health. Ideally you should aim to stop smoking eight weeks before your surgery as this greatly reduces the risk of you developing complications. Smokers have one in three risk of developing post-operative chest infection. This can be reduced to one in ten if you stop eight weeks before your operation. We appreciate it is not always possible to give up in advance of your op especially for those undergoing emergency surgery, however giving up smoking for just a few days can make a big difference to your recovery as carbon monoxide and nicotine are cleared from your body within 48 hours.
Benefits of giving up smoking pre-op
What help can you get?
You don’t need to do it alone. It can be hard to quit smoking but you are up to four times more likely to quit with help and support from a specialized service. Smokefree Liverpool can support you in your quit attempt; we offer:
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What is secondhand smoke?
More than 80% of secondhand smoke is invisible and odourless, so no matter how careful you think you’re being, your family still breathes in the harmful poisons. This puts them at risk of meningitis, cancer, bronchitis and pneumonia.
Secondhand smoke is dangerous for anyone exposed to it, but children are especially vulnerable as they have less well-developed airways, lungs and immune systems. Up to 5 million children across the UK are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke in the home. Breathing second-hand smoke increases a child’s or an adult’s risk of lung cancer by 24% and heart disease by 25%.
It’s not just about the physical effects smoking has on your family.
Nearly three quarters of children worry that their mum or dad will die because they smoke. Not only that, but if you smoke, your children are three times more likely to smoke when they grow up. By quitting your children will be less likely to take up smoking.
How can I prevent secondhand smoke?
From 1st October 2015 it will be illegal to smoke in vehicles with someone under 18 present; both the driver and passenger could be fined £50.
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Stopping smoking can make a drastic improvement to your lifestyle and health in ways you might not expect. Once you stop smoking, some of the benefits are immediate and some are longer-term
You will reduce your risk of developing illnesses, disability or death
You will reduce your risk of amputation caused by circulatory problems
You will improve the health those around you and protect your children from secondhand smoke
You will improve your fertility levels and your chance of a healthy pregnancy and baby, whether you are a man or a woman planning to have a baby
You will improve your breathing and lung capacity
Your taste buds will recover
SUCCESS STORIES20 minutes
Blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal.
24 hours
Carbon monoxide will be eliminated from the body. Lungs start to clear out mucus and other smoking debris.
72 hours
Breathing becomes easier. Bronchial tubes begin to relax and energy levels increase.
3 - 9 months
Coughs, weezing and breathing problems improve as lung function increases by up to 10%.
10 years
Risk of lung cancer falls to half that of a smoker. Risk of heart attack falls to the same as one who has never smoked.
8 hours
Nicotine and caron monoxide levels in blood reduce by half, oxygen levels return to normal.
48 hours
There is no nicotine. Ability to smell and taste is greatly improved.
2 - 12 weeks
Your circulation improves.
5 years
Risk of heart attack falls to about half compared to a person who is still smoking.
Answer the two questions below and then click “Calculate” to see how much money you could save!
How much do you pay for a 20 pack of your favourite cigarettes?
How many packets of cigarettes do you smoke each day?
Please note that the figures above are simply an indication of much you could save based on the cost of a pack of cigarettes and your daily intake.