We’re all in this together
Like anything in life doing it together can sometimes be easier and more enjoyable. Nothing could be truer than with quitting smoking if you have decided to quit smoking while your partner continues this can make your quit attempt even harder with temptation and a little too close for comfort.
Main benefits of quitting together:
- More support– Quitting together will enable you to support each other through the harder times. And there is nothing like a little healthy competition.
- Double the saving– If you and your partner both smoke you could get double the savings by both kicking the habit!
- No second-hand smoke – if you both quit smoking you will no longer have to deal with second-hand smoke! And once you’ve quit the smell can really repulse you.
My partner is quitting smoking, how can I help?
- Keep calm – nicotine withdrawal can cause low mood and also make your partner more susceptible to low and changeable mood. Always remember it’s the nicotine talking not them!
- Communication- Keeping communicating during quitting smoking is very important and can help avoid conflict if both parties are clear about how they feel.
- Offer distraction – Go to the movies (and let them choose the show), Take a walk, go for a meal out. There are many options to help your partner not think about smoking.
- Celebrate – celebrate their small achievements. For example, their first week smoke free.
Instant pay rise
A 20-a-day smoker could save £2,405 a year if they quit.
Save and treat yourself
As an average most clients smoke around 10 cigarettes per day. This adds up to around 5 pounds per day, 35 pounds per week, 150 per month, 1,825 per year.
We asked OneLife Suffolk Staff what they would do if they had an extra £1825 per year spare!
This is what they said:
‘A return ticket to the other side of the world?’
Eliza
Stop Smoking Advisor, OneLife Suffolk
‘There are so many possibilities. It could equate as a takeaway for 2 people each week, a spa day each month, a swanky gym membership, with change! Or in a year a deposit for a new car!’
Amy
Smoking Cessation & NHS Health Checks Service Manager, OneLife Suffolk
‘I would absolutely spend that money on a holiday/ some travelling other than that maybe a new road bike’
Joshua
Marketing Assistant, OneLife Suffolk
The murky stuff
So, what are the effects of smoking on your body?
Circulation
- Smoking causes your blood to thicken and turn gloopy *yuck*
- Your arteries also narrow increasing your risk of a blood clot. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor.
Bones
- Yes, even your bones are affected by smoking! Smoking can make your bones turn brittle this can become a very big problem as you get older!
Throat and Mouth
- Bad teeth, bad breath, increased risk gum disease and loss of taste dose not sound a very good date.
- Your risk of developing oesophagus cancer massively increases in fact over 93% of cases of cancer are linked to smoking.
Heart
- Due to your blood ‘thickening’ this means your heart has to work harder to pump your blood round your body. Chemicals in cigarette smoke cause the blood to thicken and form clots inside veins and arteries.
- Carbon monoxide suffocates the oxygen form the red blood cell, meaning your heart has to work so much harder to push oxygen around your body and up to your brain. As a smoker this poses more risk of Heart Attack and Stroke.
- Other chemicals in cigarette smoke damage the lining of your coronary arteries, leading to furring of the arteries.
- Did you know that smoking doubles your risk of heart attack!
Brain
- Sorry to say but your risk of stroke also increases! One of the reasons for this is due to the thinning of your blood vessels along with the increase in blood pressure this can cause a blood vessel to burst in your brain causing a brain subarachnoid brain haemorrhage, which is a type of stroke. This can cause serious damage to your brain or worst death!
Smoking and reproductive health
- Smoking has many effects for males when it comes to reproductive health including issues with impotence and lower sperm count
- Smoking also effects women, reducing their fertility as well as increasing the risk of miscarriage
Skin
- Notice your skin looks a bit grey, sallow and lifeless? This is due to the fact that during smoking the oxygen levels in your body drop your body will then reduce the amount of oxygen to your skin to try and protect the vital organs.
- Smoking will make your skin look older!
Lungs
- Your lungs are in direct firing line when you smoke with smoke and tar filling them when you smoke.
- It all starts with a ‘smokers Cough’ however this can quickly develop into something far worst such as COPD which is where your lungs your lungs fill with mucus due to the inflammation caused by smoking.
Second-hand smoke
Smoking not only affects your health but the health of others around you!
Most of the smoke that comes from a cigarette is actually 80% invisible. The smoke from a cigarette also lingers, it can last up to 5 hours in an enclosed environment such as your home.
The adverse effects of second-hand smoke can be felt straight away:
- coughing
- headaches
- eye and nasal irritation
- sore throat
- difficulty breathing
These conditions can in particular effect children, especially with asthma.
Although these effects are only temporary if a person is exposed to second-hand smoke on a regular and reoccurring basis the effects can be more dramatic:
- coronary heart disease (risk increased by 25-30%)
- lung cancer (risk increased by 20-30%) and other cancers
- stroke (risk increased by 20-30%)
- increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other breathing problems
Smoking in pregnancy
Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do for you and your baby. It can be difficult to stop smoking, however, our stop smoking practitioners are here to support you.
Every cigarette you smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, so smoking when you are pregnant can be harmful to you and your unborn baby. Cigarettes can restrict the essential oxygen supply to your baby which can hinder their development. Each inhalation on a cigarette starves baby of 15 seconds of oxygen.
- Risks of Smoking during Pregnancy
- Increased risk of Miscarriage
- Increased risk of the child’s developing asthma
- Stunted development
- No matter what stage of pregnancy you are, it is never too late to quit smoking!
