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The Different Stop Smoking Products Available at Your Pharmacy

Every year smoking causes 33,000 deaths from cancer, breathing problems and heart disease. It drains your bank balance, lowers your energy levels and impacts the health of your family, so it’s no wonder so many people are desperate to quit. Thankfully there’s now plenty of help available at your local pharmacy to help you stub out for good.

You can walk into your local pharmacy today and ask them about their stop smoking products service. After a brief chat to discuss your smoking habits, they can put you on a smoking cessation course and provide you with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) best suited to helping you break the nicotine addiction chain.

Nicotine patches - If you’re a regular smoker but with a low dependence on the behavioural aspects of smoking, such as smoking after meals or when driving, you’ll probably be recommended nicotine patches. Patches are available offering 16 hours relief for the daytime or 24 hours if you struggle with cravings first thing in the morning.

Lozenges – These are another discrete form of nicotine replacement therapy. They’re simply slipped under the tongue and allowed to dissolve for about half an hour (rather than chewed or swallowed).

Nicotine gum - The most popular form of NRT, which is great for irregular smokers who get cravings in certain situations or times of the day, such as waiting for the bus or walking home from work. If you smoke less than 20 cigarettes a day then you might be happy to start with 2 mg packs, or if you’re a heavy smoker you can start with 4 mg and then change to 2 mg as your cravings reduce.

Nicotine inhalator – A new form of NRT that’s becoming very popular because it’s shaped like a cigarette and mimics the ‘hand to mouth’ aspect of smoking. Nicotine is absorbed through the cheek lining, which means it never reaches the lungs.

Nicotine nasal spray – If you’re a heavy smoker, and need fast acting relief from nicotine cravings, you might find NRT nasal sprays helpful. These provide strong doses of nicotine that enters your bloodstream through your nose lining, offering a nicotine rush similar to having a cigarette.

You might find that over the course of your smoking cessation therapy you’ll want to change which nicotine replacement you’re using, reduce the dosage or try a different combination. Part of the pharmacy’s smoking cessation service includes being available to discuss your progress, and this provides a great opportunity to adjust your NRT so you can stop smoking for good.

Useful links

http://www.ash.org.uk/ash_k3ij4ck2.htm
http://smokefree.nhs.uk/
http://rpsgb.org.uk/

It’s never too late to give up smoking – whatever your age. Giving up drastically reduces the risk of a heart attack – within five years your risk is half that of a smokers and after ten years it is the same as a non-smokers.

There are other advantages too – you reduce your risk of lung cancer and lung diseases such as emphysema. You will be able to breather more easily, have a better sense of taste and smell, and generally feel much fitter. Not only that but your complexion will improve and you’ll have a lot more money in your pocket!

Top tips
Dealing with the urge to smoke can of course be difficult but there are some useful tips to getting through this:

- Wait until the craving passes – you may find the urge only lasts a few minutes
- Drink some water – helps avoid smoking and takes your mind of smoking
- Distract yourself – do not try and justify ‘just one cigarette’
- Remind yourself why you wanted to quit
- Avoid social situations where you would normally smoke until you are ready
- Watch out for signs of stress and try and diffuse them eg through a brisk walk, a chat with a friend
- Seek support from your local pharmacist who will have lots of practical advice around managing your weight, cholesterol and blood pressure as you give up – as well as helping you monitor the positive results!

Will I have any side effects when I quit?
Giving up smoking is difficult because the body is addicted to nicotine. When you give up you may become irritable, depressed or restless and have difficult concentrating. These feelings will pass though and it is important to persevere, as the benefits will last a lifetime.

Will I gain weight when I give up smoking?
This is not inevitable but many quitters do gain a little extra weight. Don’t replace your cigarettes with lots of sweets or fatty snacks – choose fruit instead. It’s not worth smoking to keep your weight down – eating healthily and exercising can easily lose a few extra pounds!

What are the health benefits of stopping smoking?
After 20 minutes: Blood pressure returns to normal
After 8 hours: Carbon monoxide levels in the blood return to normal
After 24 hours: The risk of heart attack begins to fall
After 1 week: The sense of taste and smell starts to improve
After 1 year: The risk of developing heart disease is reduced to about half that of a smoker

How can my pharmacist help?
By stopping smoking it is well know that you can drastically improve your health. Smokers are at risk of suffering not only from cancer related illness but also from high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease. In fact one quarter of deaths from coronary heart disease are smoking related. Your pharmacist can give advice on managing these effects from weight management through to cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes it’s worth seeking advice.

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