Wednesday 12th March 2025 marks No Smoking Day and ASH Scotland has launched a campaign with the theme ‘Quit and Win.’ The aim is to encourage people who smoke to quit and stay quit for good, therefore winning with their health, fitness, mental health and finances when they leave tobacco behind.
As we raise awareness of our Quit Your Way Shetland programme – the specialist programme designed to support people in Shetland who wish to stop smoking – we want to bring light to the benefits that stop smoking has to your health and life.
Stop smoking and live a healthier life
Quitting smoking is one of the best things you will ever do for your health.
When you stop and have that last cigarette, you give your lungs the chance to repair allowing you to breathe easier. There are lots of other benefits too, which start almost immediately.
- Within six hours your heart rate will slow and your blood pressure will become more stable.
- Within one day your bloodstream will be almost nicotine free, the level of carbon monoxide in your blood will have dropped, and oxygen will be reaching your heart and muscles more easily.
- Within one week your sense of taste and smell may have improved.
- Within three months you will be coughing and wheezing less, your immune function and circulation to your hands and feet will be improving, and your lungs will be getting better at removing mucus, tar and dust.
- Within six months your stress levels are likely to have dropped, and you are less likely to be coughing up phlegm.
- After one year your lungs will be healthier and breathing will be easier than if you’d kept smoking.
- Within two to five years your risk of heart disease will have dropped significantly (and will continue to do so over time).
- Within five years, a woman’s risk of cervical cancer will be the same as if she had never smoked.
- After 10 to 15 years your risk of lung cancer will be half that of someone of a similar age who keeps smoking.
- After 20 years your risk of heart attack and stroke will be similar to that of someone who has never smoked.
What you can expect from our service
Quitting smoking is a big challenge, but we are here to help you find your way. With Quit Your Way we can offer you a tailored programme with specialists in smoking behaviour change and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). NRT is free of charge for people looking to quit smoking or vaping through the programme, and this gives you a safe, clean way to manage cravings.
The Quit Your Way programme usually takes 12 weeks to complete, but if you need support in the lead up, and afterwards, we can provide that too. Sessions are 1-1 and are either weekly or fortnightly. Our advisors are friendly, non-judgemental and encouraging and trained in techniques for smoking cessation. We are here to work with you to increase and re-inforce your motivation and readiness to quit – and be that ear to listen how smoking fits into your life and why you want to quit. The behavioural support we offer can help you:
- Boost your motivation and confidence
- Tackle your smoking habits and behaviours
- Find ways to cope during difficult times
- Maintainyour quit long-term
Quitting Smoking in a remote and rural community can be challenging for many reasons, but at Healthy Shetland we provide support no matter where you are. We have a flexible programme and appontments can be delivered:
- In person
- Over the phone
- Video call
We understand the cost of living in Shetland can be tough when it comes to transport and accessing services and appointments, and we are driven to offer the best bespoke options for communications and consultations where we can. We have strong links with local GPs and health centres, alongside community pharmacies, which ensures that we can provide joined up care throughout your quit.
What about vaping?
We are also a vaping (e-cigarette) friendly service and also support people to quit vaping. If you would prefer to stop smoking using a vape we can support you to do this. We do not supply vapes but our team are trained to discuss the use of vapes as a stop smoking tool and can support you to choose the best approach for you. For more information on vaping please visit our new webpage – Vaping (e-cigarettes) – Healthy Shetland.
Quit & Win
If you are contemplating quitting perhaps a place to start could be to think about – what would be a win for you?
What could be a quick win for you if you stopped smoking today, and how would your life change right now?
But also what could be the bigger wins, considering your whole life and everything round about you? How could this impact your life?
If you’d like to make those changes and you’d like to make them now, then we’d like to hear from you.
Pharmacy
Shetland community pharmacies also offer free stop smoking advice. They do not offer behavioural support, but the pharmacist will explain the types of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) available to help you decide what is right for you.
Contact your local pharmacy to find out more about the services they offer – Pharmacies | NHS Inform
Online support
Reaching out to ask for support can often be toughest first step when considering stopping smoking, it’s never too late to quit and easier with the right support.
Visit our page on smoking cessation to learn more about the benefits of quitting smoking cigarettes by clicking on this link today.
NHS Inform also provide national support which is based on the Scottish Mainland, have a look at these support options on the NHS Inform website – Quit Your Way Scotland | NHS inform
Research shows you are four times more likely to quit with specialist support plus NRT than you would be going it alone.
