On national non-smoking day, the NHS is urging the six million smokers in the UK to make an effort to kick the habit.
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00:00And it's basically a non-smoking day campaign to encourage the 6 million people around the
00:05UK.
00:06If I had my doctor's hat on, I would go through a full history of your smoking history and
00:10why you want to stop and your medical information, but for this purpose, I would generally just
00:14be talking about, listen, there are a number of different resources and these are the key
00:18advice I would give you.
00:19I would definitely make sure you don't do it alone.
00:22Have an accountability partner because it's going to be so much easier and requires a
00:25lot less discipline and determination.
00:28Access the free resources available.
00:30If smokers are looking to quit, there are some methods offered by the NHS.
00:35A quit smoking app is available to mobile users.
00:38This offers real-time help with cravings and a personal quit plan, which provides tailored
00:43guidance based on tackling triggers and routines.
00:48Access your local resources, so your local stop smoking services or talk to a professional
00:52like me and then develop a plan and say, okay, this is my goal.
00:56If I want to quit by 2025, I'm going to start by cutting down, using these resources, maybe
01:01accessing behavioral therapy, looking at the app, and I'm going to call in with a family
01:06member or a friend who's going to check on me and help me in my time of need when I get
01:10these cravings.
01:11Would you suggest vaping as an alternative for people who are giving up or would you
01:16just say it's something people need to start staying away from because there's loads of
01:20research out there that just says a lot of different stuff?
01:23That's a very, very, very good question.
01:26Currently, the NHS does actually recommend nicotine vapes as an alternative to smoking
01:33for people who have been long-term smokers who are finding it very hard to quit.
01:38We've seen the evidence suggests when combined with behavioral support, it could be one of
01:42the most effective ways that people could actually quit smoking.
01:46We do recommend them.
01:47We don't recommend them to people who haven't smoked before to begin and start vaping as
01:51an alternative, but we use it as a nicotine replacement therapy in a sense because it
01:56can give you a small nicotine hit, which can help these cravings and withdraw symptoms
02:01without giving you the harmful chemicals, carbon monoxide, tar, and tobacco that we
02:06know comes from the cigarettes.
02:09I'm hoping, and this is me being very optimistic as a clinician at the health professional,
02:13I'm hoping eventually smoking will be almost a little bit taboo, that people will actually
02:18be embarrassed and ashamed to be smoking around their colleagues because so many people
02:22hopefully will quit.
02:23Obviously, everyone will be educated to the point where we know the benefits of stopping
02:26and we know the harmful effects of continuation of smoking.