Why quit?
Every time you smoke, blood that is thick and dirty with toxins travels around your body in seconds. This increases your chances of a heart attack or stroke.
There are over 4,000 chemicals in each cigarette, 50 of which are known to cause cancer. These include:
- Tar - Known to cause mouth, throat and lung cancer.
- Carbon monoxide - A poisonous gas, can also be found in car fumes. It stops the blood taking up oxygen from the lungs.
- Arsenic - Also used in rat poison.
- Benzene - Found in petrol fumes and causes leukaemia.
- Hydrogen cyanide - An industrial pollutant.
Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK. It increases your risk of developing over 50 serious health conditions, which include: cancer, stroke and dementia.
What happens when you quit?
You will greatly increase your chances of living a longer life. The health benefits of stopping begin straightaway.
- Within 20 minutes, your blood pressure and pulse return to normal.
- After six months, your risk of heart attack, cancer and other smoking related diseases begins to fall.
- After ten years, your risk of a heart attack will fall to that of a non-smoker.
You may also want to quit for other reasons:
- Save money. Just two packs of cigarettes each week adds up to over £1,000 per year.
- Protect your family from second hand smoke. The only way to protect your family from second hand smoke is to have a completely smoke-free home and car.
- You are pregnant. Smoking causes greater risk of miscarriage and stillbirth.
- Improve your fertility. Men who smoke have a lower sperm count than non-smokers. Women who smoke have a lower chance of conceiving than non-smokers.
- To protect your pets. Breathing in second hand smoke can also cause cancer in pets.
For more about the benefits of stopping smoking, visit: Yorkshire smokefree Calderdale - Why quit?
Get help to stop smoking
Stopping smoking can be hard. You are three times more likely to be successful if you get support from a stop smoking service.
Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale is funded by Calderdale Council to support people who want to try to quit. This includes face-to-face, phone and online support across a range of locations in Calderdale. The service is free, friendly and flexible. It offers support in a way that suits your preferences.
For more about the service or to join today:
- Phone: 01422 262 373, 0800 612 0011 (free from landlines) or 0330 660 1166 (free from most mobiles).
- Visit: Yorkshire smokefree service - Arrange a callback for an advisors to get back to you.
Keep It Out campaign
This is a West Yorkshire campaign to tackle Illegal tobacco sales. The sellers do not care who they sell cigarettes to.
Cheap, available tobacco makes it easier for children to start smoking. This often leading to a lifetime of addiction, ill health and an early death. It also puts them into contact with criminals.
A survey of over 1,200 smokers and non-smokers across Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield and York showed that:
- Around 17% of smokers buy illegal tobacco.
- 85% of adults are concerned about young people getting hold of illegal tobacco.
- 36% of smokers have been offered illegal tobacco.
- Six out of ten adults are “very uncomfortable” with illegal tobacco. They see it as an important issue for the local community.
- 8 out of 10 smokers regret starting.
How to help keep it out
Anyone who knows where it is being sold is urged to report it (anonymously):
- Visit: Keep It Out .
- Telephone the Illegal Tobacco Hotline: 0300 999 0000.