Blog

<h3>Stress can hit you hard and get in the way of stopping you smoking by testing your willpower. Here’s some top stress busting tips to help when times get tough.</h3>The way you deal with stress is an important part of keeping yourself fit and healthy. It’s likely during your quit journey that you’re going to feel stressed, so here are some ways to help you manage your stress levels where you can.Eat a healthy diet It’s normal when stressed to seek out comforting foods but often these aren’t the best choices for making us feel good.Aim to get your 5 a day of fruit and veg. Load up on foods containing magnesium and vitamins B &amp; C, as these support brain function. Foods like citrus fruits, bananas, nuts, seeds, oats, brown rice, meat and fish and leafy green vegetables are great.Swerve alcohol A stiff drink might provide temporary relief from stress, but too much alcohol can cause health problems in the long run. Over time, these will elevate stress levels too. Try to cut out or cut down your consumption to have a positive impact on your stress levels and your overall health. Try switching to a low or no alcohol alternative, and, if you’re struggling, speak to your GP.Stay active Exercise can be amazing at helping you cope with stress, distracting you from your worries, giving you time out from your stresses and boosting your endorphin levels – the chemicals that help naturally ease anxiety and depression. You might find it helps improve your sleep too.The NHS recommends you aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. Remember, this is only a guide, every bit of activity you do will be beneficial. Try and find something you enjoy and you’ll be more likely to stick at it.Sleep well It’s no coincidence things are more stressful when you’re tired. If you’re having trouble getting the sleep you need here are some things you can try to improve your sleep.<ul><li>Aim to wake-up and go to sleep at the same time each day.</li><li>Avoid heavy meals, alcohol and caffeine in the evening.</li><li>Daily exercise helps ensure you’re physically tired when it comes to bedtime.</li><li>Turn any screens off at least half an hour before bedtime.</li><li>Wind down with a bath or gentle yoga session.</li></ul>Reach out and talk A problem shared is a problem halved and talking offers you the opportunity for perspective and clarity. A good support network of friends or family can help you find solutions to problems. If you’d prefer to talk to people you don’t know, the <a data-mce-href="https://www.samaritans.org/" href="https://www.samaritans.org/">Samaritans </a>are always available to listen.Take time for yourself Both at work and at home, you are of value. You need to look after yourself and ensure you’re not overloaded with responsibilities and demands. At work, try to manage your workload and speak out if it becomes overwhelming.At home, try to take some time for yourself every day to do a relaxing activity, such as a walk in the park, reading, gardening, yoga or meditation. Practicing meditation can help clear your mind. Invest time in hobbies you enjoy when you can, this will boost your mood too.Take a deep breath Focusing on the breath helps to calm you and keep your focus and clarity. Deep breathing decreases the heart rate and lowers blood pressure.Try this:<ul><li>Sit up straight, placing your hands on your belly and close your eyes.</li><li>Breathe in slowly through your nose, allowing your tummy to slowly expand, feel the air running through your body.</li><li>When your lungs are near full capacity, push the air out through your mouth with a bit of pressure, releasing all your built-up tension. </li></ul>Practicing this a couple of times a day can be beneficial to managing your stress levels. Don’t be afraid to take further action If you feel overwhelmed by stress and nothing you’re doing is making it better, it’s time to seek help with your GP. They’ll assess your symptoms and circumstances and recommend a course of treatment which may include medication or other remedial help, all the while keeping in mind your quit attempt. Stress is part of everyday life but living with chronic stress can lead to long term health problems. That’s the last thing you want when you’re trying to do something positive for your health by quitting smoking. A good diet, exercise and sleep routine can all help you cope with stress. Try to be mindful of your stress levels and make little adjustments where you can.

Stressbusting 101

<h3>The festive season is a wonderful time to catch up with friends, celebrate with colleagues and enjoy a bit of well-earned fun. Here’s how to enjoy the celebrations without giving in to temptation.</h3>Be proud to say you’ve quit You’ve made a fantastic decision to stop smoking, and Christmas is the perfect time to show just how far you’ve come. If you feel comfortable, let people know you’ve quit before the party. It sets expectations early and saves you from awkward offers of “just one.”Most people will admire your willpower and respect your choice and those who don’t might not be the best influence right now. Remember, you’re doing something brilliant for your health and your future.Plan ahead for triggers Christmas parties can be full of smoking triggers: alcohol, late nights, and that social buzz that comes from being around friends.Take a few minutes before you go out to think about what might tempt you, and how you’ll handle it. For example:<ul><li>Avoid spending time near smoking areas if they’re too tempting.</li><li>Keep your hands busy with a drink or snack.</li><li>Focus on catching up with people and enjoying the atmosphere.</li><li>If you’re using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), make sure you have what you need before heading out – whether that’s gum, a lozenge, or a patch. It can make all the difference when a craving hits.</li></ul>Don’t miss out It’s easy to worry that you’ll have less fun without a cigarette, especially if you used to be a “social smoker.” But avoiding social events completely can make you feel left out and isolated.Instead, find ways to enjoy the season on your own terms. Offer to be the designated driver, or meet friends for lunch or a winter walk rather than a big night out. Remember you don’t need a cigarette to relax or connect with people.Stay in control around alcohol Alcohol is one of the biggest triggers for smoking. It lowers your inhibitions and can make the idea of a cigarette feel irresistible. Try setting yourself a drink limit before you go, or alternate alcoholic drinks with soft ones.If you feel yourself wavering, take a short break. Get some air, grab a glass of water, or focus on a conversation with someone who supports you. You’ll thank yourself the next morning when you wake up clear-headed and smoke-free.Remind yourself how far you’ve come Every event you get through without smoking is a win. Each one proves you can enjoy yourself without relying on cigarettes. Over time, those moments build up into a real sense of pride and freedom.So if you’re heading to a Christmas party, go with confidence. You’ve done the hard part – you’ve quit. Now it’s just about enjoying the season, your way.

How to manage socialising when you stop smoking

<h3>Cravings can happen at any time, even if you’ve been smoke free for a long time. Understanding your smoking triggers can help you beat the urge to smoke.</h3>What are your smoking triggers? Certain feelings, places or situations can trigger cravings for a cigarette, so understanding why they’re happening can give you the power to resist them. Here are some common triggers and how you can help manage them.Alcohol For some people, alcohol both triggers cravings and reduces their ability to resist them. When you’ve had a drink, you’re much more likely to think it’s a good idea to light up, and a lot less likely to listen to the little voice in your head that reminds you why you quit.If you can, try to avoid alcohol or drink less at the beginning of your quit attempt to manage cravings, which can be particularly intense when you first give up. When you’re socialising, do all you can to resist joining friends who smoke outside or in smoking areas.Stress Stress is an inevitable part of life. You might feel that smoking is a good way to cope with stress, but discovering healthy ways to manage stress will help you remain smoke free.A few ways of managing stress include talking to friends and family, learning how to manage your time better and remembering to take time for yourself. Find more ways to combat stress with our stress busting tips.Your morning routine We often hear that it’s difficult to resist having a cigarette when it’s just something you do as part of your everyday life. Smoking is often associated with doing other daily activities, like having a morning coffee. If you’re used to lighting up after pouring yourself a coffee, your craving will kick in as soon as you fill up the kettle, and you’ll probably find it hard to resist.One way of beating this trigger is to change your routine. Exercise is a great way to start the day and will distract you from smoking. Pour that coffee into a travel mug and go for a walk.Socialising Tell your friends and family you’re quitting. If they’re in the loop, they can support you by not smoking around you or offering you cigarettes.Try to avoid smoking environments like the smoking area in social venues and at work. If you usually go outside for a cigarette break, go for a wander around the block or stay indoors to avoid being tempted.Smoking when bored Some people smoke to relieve feelings of boredom. If this rings true, keep your brain stimulated with activities like reading or solving a puzzle. Keeping your hands busy will also help to manage your cravings, so keep a stress ball or a fidget toy around to play with the next time you get the urge to smoke.Need help to stop smoking? It’s quick, easy and free to sign up for our support. Just <a data-mce-href="smokefreeisland.co.uk/sign-up" href="smokefreeisland.co.uk/sign-up">click here </a>or text QUIT to 80011. Let’s quit smoking together!

Understanding your smoking triggers

<h3>Once you’ve given up smoking and are over the initial hurdles, you’ll probably wonder why all the people you know who smoke haven’t done the same. Here’s how to help them quit.</h3>If you’ve taken steps to go smoke free, you’re probably enjoying the positive changes it has made to your life. When you’re feeling good, it’s natural to want others to feel good too, and so you might want to help friends and family who smoke quit too.The journey of quitting smoking is personal and unique to every individual who quits, so it might not be as simple as just telling others to quit. You may have friends and family who smoke and aren’t ready to quit, or they might be aware they need to quit but are hesitant because of past attempts.It’s important to be sensitive to the feelings of others. But that doesn’t mean you can’t support them to quit. Here are a few ways you can support a friend to quit, showing you care but that you’re sensitive to their situation.<ul><li>Talk openly about smoking and be honest about your own quit attempt.</li><li>Ask if they want to quit and what they think they need to do to get to that point.</li><li>Ask if they’d like to know about what helped you – some people find this helpful, others don’t, so don’t be offended if they don’t!</li><li>Ask them if there’s anything you can do to help them quit.</li><li>Tell them you know they can quit smoking for good, even if they’ve tried to quit before.</li><li>If they react negatively to talk of quitting smoking, don’t push it. Some people aren’t ready to quit and need time to figure it out for themselves.</li><li>If they do want to quit, let them know that you’re there for them, even if all they need is a friendly ear.</li><li>Ask if they’d like practical support, and volunteer to help them take the next step.</li><li>Compliment them for every small milestone reached.</li><li>Check in on them from time to time. Just a small text to ask how they’re doing can mean a lot.</li><li>Do things together. Quitting smoking is a lot easier if you take your mind off smoking, so go for a walk together or do something else you’d both enjoy, like going to the cinema. Avoid places where others will be smoking.</li><li>Don’t treat them like a naughty child! If they slip up, don’t tell them off or act disappointed. Let them know it’s fine to try again and support them to do so.</li></ul>When they’re ready, remember we’re here to help them quit for good. It’s quick and easy to sign up – just text QUIT to 80011.

Tips for helping someone else quit

<h3>How we look is one of the most obvious signs of how smoking affects our health. So how does smoking affect the way you look?</h3>It’s hard to consider smoking’s effect on our lungs, for example, because we can’t see them and unless we’re in pain we tend not to think about them. What we can see though is yellow teeth and dull looking skin, and it can be a shock to see clear signs of the damage we do by smoking.One study found that 13% of men and 21% of women said that their appearance was one of the main factors that motivated them to quit smoking. Let’s take a closer look at what smoking does to the way we look.Smoking and teeth Smoking stains our teeth and increases the risk of our teeth falling out due to inflammation of the gums. Smoking also leads to bad breath as chemicals found in tobacco stick around in the mouth, encouraging bacteria to grow.Not only does smoking cause aesthetic changes, but it also makes it more likely that you’ll develop potentially life-threatening cancers of the throat, tongue, soft palate and tonsils. The good news? People who quit half their risk of cancers of the mouth, throat and oesophagus within five years.Smoking and eyes Smoking disrupts your sleep patterns and starves your skin of vitamins like vitamin C, which works to repair and regenerate skin cells. This is bad news for the delicate skin around your eyes and eyelids, and makes it more likely you’ll have dark circles around your eyes and under-eye bags.Smoking doubles your chances of losing your sight, and research has found that smoking can restrict blood flow to the eyes. Tobacco smoke also irritates the eyes, making them drier and redder.Smoking and your body type Smoking can change how fat is distributed across the body, with smokers typically storing fat around the waist and upper torso. This makes it more likely that you’ll have a higher waist-to-hip ratio than someone who doesn’t smoke.A higher waist-to-hip ratio is linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and other health complications.Smoking and skin As smoking restricts blood flow, it deprives the skin of oxygen and essential nutrients, making it dry and giving it a grey, dull appearance.The more you smoke, the more likely it is that you’ll get wrinkles. This is because smoking produces an enzyme that breaks down collagen in skin. Collagen is a type of protein that helps skin cells renew, keeping your skin from sagging and giving your skin smoothness and elasticity. Without collagen, wrinkles are likely to be deeper and happen earlier in life."But I’ve already smoked, the damage is done!" One of the main concerns we hear is that it’s too late to quit, but the truth is it’s never too late to go smoke free. Your body begins to heal itself as little as 20 minutes after you have your last cigarette and the health benefits continue the longer you stay smoke free.Get started on your journey to a healthier, smokefree future. We’re here to help you quit for good. Just <a data-mce-href="smokefreeisland.co.uk/sign-up" href="smokefreeisland.co.uk/sign-up">click here</a> or text QUIT to 80011 to join for free.

How smoking affects your appearance

<h3>If you smoke and are finding it hard to stop, it’s likely that nicotine might be the reason you’re struggling. But did you know that nicotine can actually help you to quit?</h3> What is nicotine? Nicotine is a drug that makes cigarettes addictive. It can be made synthetically, but traditionally it comes from the tobacco plant.What does nicotine do to your body? Nicotine is the least harmful part of a cigarette when compared to the other substances found in them – like tar and carbon monoxide. Unlike other chemicals found in tobacco, nicotine itself hasn’t been linked to cancer.However, nicotine will raise your blood pressure and heart rate, and can contribute to the hardening of arteries, which give you a higher risk of heart-related issues.The main danger of nicotine is how addictive it is. It reaches the brain quickly, and releases dopamine, the chemical that is responsible for feelings of reward and pleasure.When you smoke, you get used to this nice feeling and crave it when the nicotine wears off, leading to a cycle of smoking to get the ‘hit’.How nicotine can help you quit It might sound strange, but nicotine can actually help you quit. The reason you get cravings is because nicotine is highly addictive, and addictions are hard to break.Using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is a common way of quitting smoking. There are several different types, such as patches, gum, lozenges and sprays. They all contain nicotine, but none of the other dangerous components of cigarettes, so it’s a safer way to get your nicotine fix.As you get used to life without cigarettes, NRT will help reduce your cravings, so you’ll be more able to resist the urge to smoke – and with the support of our expert Quit Coaches, you’ll soon find that you’re totally nicotine-free.Get free, friendly support to quit It’s quick and easy to join – just text QUIT to 80011 or <a data-mce-href="LINk" href="LINk" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">click here </a>to get started.

Nicotine and quitting: What you need to know.

Smokefree Island

At Smokefree Island, we offer free, friendly support to quit smoking or vaping for good. With our expert support and free NRT or medication, you're three times more likely to quit. To get started free, just text QUIT to 80011