Help & Advice:

You can click on the links below for some general help, advice and support, or for a personal plan call New Leaf Nottingham on 0800 561 2121.

 

Some ways of stopping smoking

Smoking triggers

Managing withdrawal symptoms

Worried about putting on weight

How to stay stopped for good

 

Some ways of stopping smoking

By far the most effective way of giving up is to use your free local NHS stop smoking service – New Leaf Nottingham.

 

New Leaf Nottingham offers one-to-one, groups and drop-in clinics with trained advisors at a variety of locations across the city, including GP practices, community centres and leisure centres. Clinics are held on different days and at various times to ensure the maximum number of clients can access the service.

 

For those who do not pay for prescriptions, nicotine replacement therapy (patches, gum etc), can be available free of charge for up to a period of eight weeks.  For those who pay for prescriptions, it can usually be arranged with the client’s GP for a prescription to be made available.

 

Medication called Zyban (buropropian) and Champix is also available on prescription.  All these options are discussed with the client and it is then decided which option would suit them best.

 

If you want to give up smoking, please contact the New Leaf Nottingham team on 0800 561 2121.

 

Ways of stopping include:

• Cold turkey – stopping smoking immediately and completely
• Cutting down – reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke over a period of time. If you allow too long it can make giving up more difficult, so if you decide to do this you should still set a definite quit date
• Other treatments – hypnosis, acupuncture and complementary therapies can and do help some people, but there’s no formal evidence that they work

Smoking triggers

 

Smoking Triggers

To help you through tricky times you need to identify triggers which make you want to light up – like having a drink, after a meal, social events, when you’re tired or stressed. Then get some ideas to help cope with them. These could be:

• Take a few slow, deep breaths
• Go for a quick stroll, or even just into another room
• Drink a glass of water
• Talk to a friend about how you’re feeling
• Rearrange your routine
• Take up a new hobby

 

Managing withdrawal symptoms

Managing withdrawal symptoms

Nicotine withdrawal can cause a variety of symptoms – here are some with ideas to help with them:

• Cravings – an intense desire to smoke - are just one of the nicotine withdrawal symptoms. These will get better over a few weeks, and in the meantime you can try NRT, or take a few long deep breaths
• Coughing, dry mouth. This happens because your lungs are clearing out the tar. This usually improves quite quickly and warm drinks can help with your cough. Remember – it’s a sign that your lungs are recovering
• Hunger – when you stop smoking you may feel hungry due to changes in your metabolism, and food will taste better too. Carry chewing gum, drink lots of water and eat fruit and veg
• Mood swings, poor concentration, and irritability – not just caused by nicotine withdrawal, also because you’re missing the habit of smoking. Warn your family and friends and ask for their support – but don’t let them persuade you to have a cigarette!

 

New Leaf Nottingham can also offer free motivational support and advice on coping with withdrawal symptoms - call 0800 561 2121.

 

Worried about putting on weight?

Some people worry about putting on weight when they give up smoking and this puts them off trying. But this needn’t be a big worry – on average after a year people who’ve given up smoking will only put on a small amount of weight.

 

People sometimes put on weight because:

• Nicotine suppresses your natural appetite and makes you burn calories faster
• Smoking affects your senses of taste and smell – when you give up smoking, food is tastier
• They replace cigarettes with snacks and sweets

 

To avoid putting on weight follow these golden rules

• Watch what you eat – steer clear of high calorie and fatty foods
• Get more exercise – even a short walk can help, so use the car less for short journeys or get off the bus a stop early
• When you think about stopping smoking, get your healthy eating plan in place too

How to stay stopped for good

 

How to stay stopped for good

Giving up smoking takes practice, and the more attempts you’ve made in the past, the more likely you are to succeed in the future. Each attempt will help you understand what works for you, and what you could do differently.

 

Most people start smoking again because:

• They thought they could get away with having ‘just one’
• They hadn’t thought about their ‘smoking triggers’ and got caught out
• They didn’t do enough planning and preparation
• They didn’t work out other ways of handling stress
• They hit a bad patch or a pressurised day
• They put on weight
• They thought of themselves as ex-smokers, not non-smokers.

 

Emergency! If you’ve just had a cigarette:

• Make the decision to stop again immediately
• Throw away any remaining cigarettes
• Call a friend, New Leaf Nottingham on 0800 561 2121 or the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 169 0 169
• Go outside or into a different room – get out of the situation that made you want to smoke
• Remember why you wanted to stop smoking in the first place
• Try to handle the ‘situation’ without another cigarette
• Keep telling yourself: “I can choose not to smoke"

 

Don’t feel guilty – everyone makes mistakes. Learn from the experience, then let it go.

There are hundreds of good reasons to stop smoking... all you need to do is choose one.

 

Telephone us on:

0800 561 2121

Email us at:

info@listentoreason.org.uk