Page 14 - Inspire Magazine

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Tips

of Health If the fi rst thing
Change your
routine:

you do in the
morning is have a
cuppa and a
cigarette, try to
change your
Whilst not the only cause of lung routine and have Peter B.
cancer, smoking signifi cantly juice or water
increases your risk of getting the instead of “I guess I started smoking like many
tea or coffee.
disease and the sooner you can quit Eat your breakfast people do – peer pressure. I was 17 and
the better. fi rst or do just met a new group of friends.
some light
Yet even with the knowledge of the exercise. Ironically though, I was one of the few of
health risks, quitting smoking is not Drink plenty: them who began smoking regularly. They
easy and many people need some Sip plenty of would often take a cigarette off me on
form of help – from nicotine water or juice nights out as I had to have them in my
throughout
substitutes to peer support. the day. pocket.
Orange juice is
Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation good, as smoking It wasn’t until 20 years later that I
depletes your
has successfully helped over 50,000 Vitamin C levels. wanted to quit after seeing my dad
people quit smoking. One of the struggle to walk ten paces at 66.
ways we do this is through our Avoid smoking
environments:
online stop-smoking community, Encourage family My last cigarette was on 5th January
Quit Support. or friends who 2017. I had help from the NHS and,
smoke to
quit with you. importantly, from Quit Support. They are
Offering help and support to those a group of people who have either been
looking to cut down or stop for Remind or are going through the same thing as
yourself
good, the forum provides hints, tips why you are you.
and advice as well as allowing quitting.
members to chat with others who I wrote my reasons for quitting, asked
are going through it too. People like Think about the stupid questions and described my
health benefi ts:
Peter B, Debra and Peter L who Within 20 feelings. I got to read the thoughts of
kindly spoke to Inspire to share their minutes of others and offer my advice.
stopping, your
experiences and advice for anyone blood pressure
who is trying to quit: and pulse return There were ‘people’ in the posts I read.
to normal. It is a community which you can lean on
After 48 hours,
your body is when you need support, knowing there is
becoming no judgement.
free of nicotine
and your sense of
taste and smell My father died in August 2017. It was
is improving. obviously a very hard time but I wasn’t
tempted to smoke.
Think about the
fi nancial benefi ts:
If you smoked Life is better now in many ways and I
20 cigarettes a expect it to continue longer, happier and
day and
then stopped, healthier than it would have been if I
you’d save hadn’t quit.”
around
£300 a month.
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