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Quit Smoking
This January With Pharmacy2U
Our
GMC-registered, UK-based GPs will review your details and, if
appropriate, can provide a prescription for treatment to help
you stop smoking.
The dangers of
smoking have been well documented for many years. In the UK, it
is estimated that every year around 22% of all male deaths, and
16% of all female deaths, are due to smoking. That is well over
100,000 deaths per year, all directly attributable to smoking.
What are the
benefits of quitting smoking?
The good news is
that once you stop smoking, your life expectancy quickly
improves. Smokers under the age of 35 who take the decision to
quit will then have a near-normal life expectancy, while there
are immediate health and social benefits for people of any age
who quit smoking.
How can stopping
smoking improve your health?
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Smoking is responsible for
nearly all cases of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
COPD includes diseases like emphysema and chronic
bronchitis, which are associated with shortness of breath
and the inability to do things you want to do.
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Smoking is the cause of 90%
of primary lung cancers, while the risk of many other
cancers (mouth, bladder, kidneys, pancreas, stomach, liver,
colon, and cervix) is also increased by smoking.
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If you smoke, you are two to
three times more likely to have a heart attack than a
non-smoker, and much more likely to die from heart disease.
Smokers are also more likely to have strokes, blood clots,
and angina.
Can smoking affect
your sex life?
Smoking increases
the risk of erectile dysfunction by about 50% for men aged
between 30 and 50 years old. If you smoke, you’re also more
likely to experience a shortness of breath. In a recent study,
it was estimated that women who smoke were only 72% as fertile
as non-smokers.
Smoking and your
appearance
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Your skin.
Quitting allows more oxygen and blood to the skin, and the
yellow tint to your hands will also disappear.
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Your breath.
Your breath will no longer smell of cigarettes, and neither
will your hair and clothes.
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Improve the taste of food.
Smoking may suppress your appetite, but it also kills your
taste buds.
Treatments to help
you quit smoking
There is no doubt
that before you attempt to stop smoking, you have got to want to
do it – this is the single most important part of quitting. Once
you have taken that decision, treatments are available that can
help you succeed and make the journey easier. Effective
treatments such as Champix are
available via prescription. Non-prescription
medicines are also available from our online pharmacy
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