If you smoke, quitting is the single best thing you can do to improve your health.
When you quit smoking, good things start to happen. You can see improvements to your health immediately. Your pulse will return to normal 20 minutes after your last cigarette, and your risk of a heart attack will be 50% lower in 12 months. You will also notice other benefits including:
• Your senses of taste and smell improve
• You start to breathe more easily
• You have more energy
• Your mental health will improve
Never Give Up Giving Up. Making multiple quit smoking attempts is normal. The key is not to give up, the more you try, the closer you are to quitting smoking for good. Try different combinations until you find the one that works for you.
Willpower alone might not be enough to quit smoking. You’re three times more likely to quit smoking and stay smoke free if you use a local stop smoking service. They make it easy and more affordable for you to get stop smoking treatments, such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and vape starter kits as well as providing expert advice on nicotine free medicines.
If you live, work, or are registered with a GP in Bath and North East Somerset, and are aged 12 years and over, you can use the local Stop Smoking Service. It’s a free, confidential service offering accurate information, advice and support to help you quit, or cut down the amount that you smoke. If you are over 18 you can also get support and advice on vaping (sometimes called e-cigarettes or e-cigs), including if you want to switch from cigarettes to vapes (which deliver nicotine, but without the tar, carbon monoxide and other harmful toxins found in cigarettes).
Local stop smoking support is also available to pregnant women through the Health and Pregnancy Service, delivered by the Royal United Hospital Maternity Service. Speak to your midwife for more information.
Better Health Quit smoking provide online advice, tools and tips to stop smoking.
You can also download the free NHS Quit Smoking smartphone App (for Android or iPhone)
A vape device is an electronic product that allows you to inhale nicotine in a vapour rather than smoke. Vapes do not burn tobacco and do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most harmful substances in cigarette smoke.
Swapping to vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking. It is one of the most effective tools for quitting smoking. There are no circumstances where it is better for you to keep smoking. Research shows that nicotine vapes are an effective aid for quitting smoking, particularly when used together with support from the local stop smoking service.
The local Swap to Stop programme, delivered by our local stop smoking service, provides you with a FREE vape starter kit alongside professional support to increase your chances of quitting for good. To sign up to Swap to Stop, and claim your free vape starter kit email hcrg.swaptostopbanes@nhs.net or freephone The Community Wellbeing Hub on 0300 247 0050.
Although vaping is much safer than smoking, it is not risk free and is not recommended for anyone who has never smoked or young people under 18. Vaping exposes users to some toxins and the long-term risks of vaping are not yet clear. Nicotine may be more risky for young people than for adults. There’s some evidence that in adolescence the brain is more sensitive to its effects and the risk of developing dependence is higher.
FRANK provides information aimed at young people about vapes and nicotine.
In the UK, it's against the law to sell cigarettes or nicotine vaping products to under-18s or for adults to buy them on their behalf. If you're under 16 and are caught in public with cigarettes or nicotine vaping products the police can confiscate them from you.
Nicotine is a very addictive substance which can be hard to stop using once you’ve started. Nicotine is not harmful to adults when used correctly and taken in the correct dose, but it is a toxin and poisoning can happen if larger doses are taken. Vapes can vary from no nicotine to high levels of nicotine. The correct nicotine level for vapes is a maximum of 2% or 20 mg, but illegal vapes which do not comply with UK regulation do exist and these should not be used. Any sales of illegal devices or underage sales should be reported to B&NES Trading Standards via Citizens Advice Consumer Service or via the Public Protection e-mail address Public_Protection@Bathnes.gov.uk. This can be done anonymously.
Find more local information, Vaping webinar for parents and carers, including how to tell if a vape is illegal.
Watch Vaping: The Facts
Disposable or single-use vapes or e-cigarettes have been linked to issues including litter, plastic waste and fire risk.
Never put vapes, disposable or rechargeable into the general waste. Find out more about the environmental impact of disposable vapes and how to safely recycle them.
Find B&NES recycling information