Why give up?

Your health

Tobacco smoke contains harmful chemicals like Carbon Monoxide, Gas Chamber Poison, Aeroplane Fuel, Cyanide and even Swamp Gas!

22% of all male deaths and 11% of all female deaths are due to smoking. Giving up smoking can reduce the risk of developing many smoking related illnesses. Within 10-15 years of giving up, an ex-smokers' risk of developing lung cancer is only slightly greater than someone who has never smoked.

The effect on other people

Secondhand smoke kills 12,000 people every year in the UK

Secondhand smoking occurs when the non-smoker breathes in 'sidestream' smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and 'mainstream' smoke, which has been inhaled and then exhaled by the smoker. Non-smokers who breathe other people's tobacco smoke are exposed to the same 4,000 chemicals that a smoker inhales.

The cost

The average smoker spends £92,000 in a lifetime on cigarettes, think what else could you spend the money on?

• A luxury holiday every year for the next thirty years
• Half share in a holiday cottage in the Lake District
• His and hers matching Alfa Romeo Spider sport cars
• £40 to spend every week eating out in a restaurant for the next forty years
• Membership of a gym for the rest of your life and more

Top tips

During the first few weeks of being a non-smoker, you're likely to experience cravings at different times of the day. Remember that these withdrawal symptoms peak within three or four days and then gradually decrease and fade away within three to four weeks.