Healthier younger adults linked to drop in smoking levels

As we reach the tenth day of the annual Stoptober Challenge, smokers across Britain should be encouraged to learn that the proportion of adults that are smoking in the UK has dropped to its smallest percentage since records began in the 1940s.

Figures published this week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that amongst the over-18s, smoking prevalence stood at 18.7% in 2013 – down from the rate of 19.8% in 2012.
The decline was revealed by the Integrated Household Survey run by ONS, a survey that quizzed almost 270,000 people over the age of 18 about their smoking habits.

The other large-scale survey to monitor smoking – the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey – demonstrated a smoking prevalence of 20% in 2012, and is widely expected to confirm the drop below one in five when its latest set of figures are released in November.

The 18.7% smoking rate shows ministers could be on course for hitting their target of bringing down the percentage of smokers to 18.5% by 2015 – if more people continue to quit.

Public Health Minister Jane Ellison said: “It is very welcome that the number of smokers is at its lowest level as this means many more people will not die prematurely. However we want to help more people to quit as smoking is still a huge killer, taking nearly 80,000 lives a year. We know the idea of giving up smoking can be daunting but by using a local stop smoking service smokers are four times more likely to succeed.”

Much of the drop has been pinpointed to an ever-increasing number of younger adults that are quickly wising up to the massive damage that smoking can do, and turning against tobacco. The younger generation are generally more clean-living than their ancestors, something many believed could be linked the rise of social media, meaning there is a better chance youngsters are in their bedrooms on Facebook instead of hanging around street corners or in bars.

The ONS survey did find however that around 21.1% of men are smoking, compared to just 16.5% of women. A third of the population have successfully quit smoking, whilst half say they have never smoked.

The proportion of the population lighting up has drastically decreased though since the 1940s, then tobacco industry statistics showed almost two thirds of men were smokers. When the ONS began records of their own in 1974, 45% of Brits were smokers – 52% of men and 41% of women.
By 2006, the numbers had slashed in half, but stayed at around the 20% level through the years of the recent recession, despite the introduction of the 2007 smoking ban.

The new figures released this week were obviously met with delight by ministers and the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), who said the findings should allay fears that increasing use of electronic cigarettes would result in more people turning to regular smoking.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Ash, said: “This statistically significant decline in adult smokers shows that the government’s tobacco control plan is working. However, over 80,000 people still die from smoking every year in England and every week hundreds of children take up smoking.

“Tough new measures to regulate tobacco, like plain standardised packaging, are needed if we are to drive down smoking still further. We urge the government to waste no time in allowing parliament to vote on the regulations which will finally get rid of glitzy, glamorous cigarette packs forever,” Arnott said.

“The drop in smoking also shows that concerns that the use of electronic cigarettes would lead to a renormalisation of tobacco use appear unfounded. The rapid increase in use of these products has coincided with a consistent steady decline in smoking.”

Website showing ghastly effects of smoking is launched as Stoptober enters final week

As we enter the final seven days of the Stoptober challenge, Medical Specialists Pharmacy would like to say a huge well done to the thousands of you who have made it this far and good luck in your quest to hopefully remain smoke-free for the rest of 2013 and beyond!

Stoptober is basically just October…without the cigarettes! Health experts say that if you stop smoking for 28 days you are in fact five times more likely to actually remain smoke-free for good!

Almost 21,000 followers have been amassed on the Stoptober Twitter page, as fellow smokers encourage each other on through the month.  In addition to helping each other with words of encouragement, smokers can still receive their free support pack as well as regular text messages that help to keep you focused, daily emails packed full of useful tips and advice, and there is even an interactive mobile app for iPhone and Android smartphones.

If you still need reasons or motivation to quit, this month has seen the interactive website ‘Tobacco Body’ launched by Finnish doctors in conjunction with the Cancer Society of Finland.

Users can first select the female or male body, and then browse through different areas such as ‘acne’, ‘face’, ‘hair’, etc. to see quite disturbing effects of smoking. It is plainly obvious to see the damage when the healthier non-smoker’s portion of the body is juxtaposed against the post-smoking side.
If it’s not bad enough that looks are severely impacted, smokers are at double the risk of a blood clot and usually have a worsened sex life. Male smokers have decreased blood flow to the penis, and are twice as likely as non-smokers to suffer with erectile dysfunction.

Smokers’ sperm density is also negatively affected, with the toxins in cigarettes diminishing both concentration and mobility of sperm cells in semen, harming the cell’s structure, according to the website.

With regards to skin, the website explains “smokers are more likely to get spots as smoking weakens the circulation which increases the risk of infection. It also make acne more difficult to deal with.”
Women smokers may not be aware of this fact, but the site also describes that smoking can actually cause hair growth on the face and arms as smoking increases levels of the male hormone, testosterone. However, there is good news in that acne and excessive hair growth in women can be treated through medications such as Dianette or Yasmin.

One person who is well on the way to permanently stubbing out cigarettes is Mike Wellings, finance director at Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

Mike, a bit fitness fanatic, was finding his stamina being limited because of smoking, saying: “I play lots of sport but I’ve found that smoking really impacts my performance. There’s also the combination of family pressure and health reasons. And, of course, I work in a hospital and it’s important to set an example.”

Like so many who wish to quit smoking, Mike decided to turn to the smoking cessation medication Champix to get him through Stoptober and beyond.

He explained: He said: “I actually started the course on the Sunday before Stoptober started. I used to smoke about 20 a day and now it’s gone down to about three. Champix makes it taste disgusting. And I’ve been drinking lots of fluids to combat the cravings too. I’ve been smoking for nearly 30 years. I tried quitting before, about four years ago when I was in Doncaster, and I managed to stop for three months. Then one day work got the better of me and I had a cigarette.  Everyone has been really supportive this time. I’m taking it just one day at a time.”

If you are a smoker who is aged 18 or above and wants to quit, you can quit today with the help of Medical Specialists Pharmacy. You can obtain the smoking cessation medication Champix following an online consultation with one of Medical Specialists’ GMC registered doctors. Champix works out from as little as just £75.00 per pack and mimics the effect of nicotine on the body, and as Mike Wellings discovered, decreases the enjoyment of smoking if you decide to have a cigarette whilst on the treatment.

Stoptober begins as thousands try to stop smoking for 28 days

You may not be aware but today is the first day of the Stoptober challenge, a 28-day challenge aimed at getting as many of the 10 million adults who smoke in Britain to stop smoking for this time period as health experts believe you are five times more likely to stay smokefree if you have successfully managed to stop for 28 days.

One way or another, smoking can and usually does impact all of us. There is a good chance that one or more of your family members smoke, and you are friends with people who smoke. Even if you yourself do not smoke, you could still be impacted by passive smoking. What smokers may not realise is that for each 28 days abstaining from cigarettes for the rest of your life, you can actually save a whole week in life.

Of course, some benefits you may notice in the short-term. Following 48 hours of not smoking, your body will now be free of nicotine and this will boost your sense of taste and smell. After 72 hours, your breathing will be improved and within 9 months of quitting you will probably notice a dramatic reduction in coughing, wheezing and breathing problems.

Last year’s Stoptober challenge saw an incredible 160,000 smokers complete the 28-day challenge and it is hoped that even more will get involved this year. Helping them along the way will be a free Stoptober pack containing support tools to help get through the 28 days, a mobile app available on iPhone and Android smartphones, as well as regular text and email support which will offer tips and advice to keep you focused in reaching your goal.

Stopping smoking can be an incredibly difficult challenge however and unless you have experienced it yourself, it can be hard to understand what it is like to try and give up cigarettes. If you think you may struggle to complete Stoptober, or even completely stop smoking after completing Stoptober, here are some tips to help you through the next month and hopefully beyond:

. Understand your reasons for quitting

Writing down a list of the reasons why you want to quit smoking may provide the necessary motivation to power through when things get difficult and you find the temptation to smoke is increasing. Who will benefit from you stopping? How much money each week/month will you save? How will your health and appearance benefit? Write down all these positives and know your reasons for quitting smoking – it will drive you on to persevere.

. Social media can connect you to fellow quitters

Facebook and Twitter can provide a useful outlet for describing your trials and tribulations during the next 28 days and reaching out to friends, family and fellow quitters you may not even know, could prove a huge morale-boosting motivation to quit. During last year’s Stoptober challenge, 50,000 people joined the Facebook Stoptober page. That’s like a football stadium full of people all cheering you on to the finish line!

. Stay active

Exercise may not be the first thing you feel like doing whilst trying not to smoke, but there is research to suggest that exercise actually helps to reduce cravings. It is thought that exercise helps the brain to produce chemicals which can suppress cravings. Even if you don’t fancy joining a gym just yet, try walking the dog or going for a brisk walk around the block, or just playing badminton perhaps with a friend.

. Get rid of cigarettes and other tobacco products from your home, car and work place.

If you don’t want the temptation there to smoke and want a feeling of liberation, then throw away all your packets of cigarettes. This means keeping absolutely no ‘emergency’ packs on standby! Next, bin any lighters, ashtrays, and matches you have cluttering up your house, car, or at work as you don’t need reminding of the habit you are benefitting from stopping. Then vigorously wash anything that still has the disgusting odour of cigarettes on it, whether this be clothes, curtains, furniture, bedding, etc.

. Reward yourself

Keep a jar handy and all the money you would usually spend (waste) on cigarettes can be put into the jar. Then at the end of the month you can treat yourself to something nice such as clothes, new shoes, or even more…depending on how many cigarettes you were previously buying!

Smokers are encouraged to join the Stoptober challenge

For the second consecutive year, the anti-smoking campaign ‘Stoptober’ will be running and aimed at encouraging smokers to quit smoking for 28 days in October.

Public Health England (PHE) is behind the campaign which begins on October 1^st and promotion for it has already begun across England and Wales. PHE state that 2012’s challenge was an overwhelming success, with over 275,000 people registering for last year’s Stoptober, of which 160,000 managed to finish the 28 day challenge.

The 28 day time length for the challenge is not simply an arbitrary number; health experts say that a smoker who quits for 28 days, and abstains from cigarettes, could add a week onto their lifespan, every 28 days, for the rest of their life.

The benefits to stopping smoking


Those who quit usually experience physical improvements such as a better sense of taste and smell, more energy, a delayed onset of facial aging and wrinkles, whiter teeth, fresher breath and better sex due to improved blood flow and stronger erections for men.
In the longer term, those who quit smoking can significantly reduce the risk of suffering from heart disease and a wide range of cancers such as lung cancer, on top of preserving the health of those around you as there will now be no secondhand smoke.

England’s chief medical officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, said: “One in two long-term smokers die as a result of smoking, this is the single biggest cause of premature death taking more than 100,000 lives in the UK and costing the NHS up to £2.7 billion each year. Life is precious and Stoptober is all about supporting and encouraging each other to quit – potentially adding years to your life. Taking part in the challenge is a first step to a longer and healthier life, so have a go by stopping with Stoptober.”

Professor Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at Public Health England, added: “Campaigns such as Stoptober, along with the support provided by local stop smoking services, play a huge role in helping people to stop. Whilst smoking prevalence across the country as a whole is falling steadily, it remains high in some parts. We want every smoker to consider making a quit attempt this October and join the thousands of people who are feeling the benefits from stopping smoking last year.”

However, there are also major monetary benefits to be felt from giving up cigarettes – particularly important when considering how difficult it is for many families in the current financial climate. By quitting smoker, the average smoker can expect to save more than £150 a month and nearly £2,000 a year – if we take £7.77 for the cost price of a packet of cigarettes and an average daily consumption of 13 cigarettes per smoker. Incredibly, it was estimated that during last year’s Stoptober campaign £25 million was saved by 160,000 people from not buying cigarettes.

Those who want to sign up for Stoptober will receive a free stop-smoking pack, a 28-day mobile phone app and text support via daily updates and advice on quitting.

If you are a smoker who is aged 18 or above and wants to quit, you do not need to wait for Stoptober to begin. Quit today with the help of Medical Specialists Pharmacy. You can obtain the smoking cessation medication Champix following an online consultation with one of Medical Specialists’ GMC registered doctors. Champix works out from as little as just £75.00 per pack and mimics the effect of nicotine on the body, reducing the urge to smoke and relieving withdrawal symptoms. It can also decrease the enjoyment you experience of smoking if you are still smoking whilst on the treatment.