Quit smoking, those two words strike fear in the heart of any smoker or at least a small anxiety attack. Smoking is a habit that is very hard to beat. If a person sticks to their guns they can quit smoking. It can be done.

There are many benefits to quitting smoking. One such thing is the health benefit. A person will start to feel better. Their sense of smell and taste will return. Body systems will improve. Their heart and lungs will begin to work more efficiently. Within twenty minutes of quitting a person’s pulse rate, blood pressure and temperature within their hands and feet will return to normal.

There is also  a monetary benefit to quitting smoking. An average pack a day smoker could save say £2,190. 00 per year. This was calculated by one pack of cigarettes per day multiplied by £6.00 per pack multiplied by 365 packs per year. That makes a lot of extra spending money.

There are a number of quit smoking systems out on the market. There are nicotine patches that administer nicotine into your system and weaning the body off of the substance over a period of time. The smoker can work on the emotional dependence of the habit while the patch is working on the physical aspect. There are also nicotine gums that can help the smoker. Chewing these gums help relieve some of the cravings and also puts the substance into the person’s system.

There are also stop smoking classes, hypnosis or the old stand by "Cold Turkey" method. The person picks a quit date and stops. There are lots of websites out there to give the smoker information as well as support. Willingness, determination and patience are all attributes that help turn a smoker into a non smoker. It may be one of the hardest things you will do so make sure you surround yourself with the right support mechanisms.

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Did you know that even smoking away from babies and pregnant women poses a health risk to them? Most people are well aware of the risks associate with smoking and passive smoking. What is less common knowledge is that of a third risk of passive smoking, particularly relevant to young children and pregnant women. This risk is due to the toxins in cigarette smoke lingering on your clothes and hair. Even smoking outside can still be a risk as the toxins can be transferred later, especially to small children who are likely to breathe in close proximity to the smoker.

Professor Winickoff, from Massachusetts General Hospital declares: “The dangers of third-hand smoke are very real – when you smoke – any place – toxic particulate matter from tobacco smoke gets into your hair and clothing.”

A particular problem of third hand smoke is that so few smokers seem to be even aware of the risk. Out of a survey of 1500 households less than half of the smokers knew about it. Traditionally, January is the most popular month in the calendar to give up smoking. If you have or are planning a family this report provides a little extra motivation.

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The Department of Health has declared the first 12 months of the smoking ban a success. A recent survey has suggested that as many as 400,000 people have quit smoking as a result of the ban, saving as many as 40,000 lives in the next 10 years in the process.

If these figures are accurate then this truly justifies the introduction of the law (if any were needed), and will provide some welcome respite for the ever strained NHS.

Although the law has attracted controversy, it cannot be argued that’s its founding principles were sound. Afterall it was designed to protect the non-smoking population from second-hand smoke in public places and in that sense was probably long overdue. As long as it is legal it is a persons right to smoke but there is no reason why a non-smoker working in a bar or cafe should have to be exposed to a potential health hazar unnecessarily.

What has been an added bonus for the likes of the NHS is the fact that the law has encouraged existing smokers to quit in such large numbers, many of them using NHS driven initiatives. Maybe this is not that surprising bearing in mid the awful weather we have in this country – leaving your mates for a quick ciggy in a February blizzard probably starts to lose its appeal. Official figures show that the number of people who quit smoking using the NHS Stop Smoking services, which provides support such as nicotine patches, was up more than 20% compared with the same period the previous year.

It remains to be seen whether the success of the smoking ban will lead to it being extended further, but with the success it has seemingly had I certainly wouldn’t bet against it.

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