Giving up smoking Q&As
Published by Bupa's health information team, November 2008.
Answers to questions about giving up smoking
This section contains answers to common questions about this topic. Questions have been suggested by health professionals, website feedback and requests via email.
- If I give up smoking, how soon will I see the benefits?
- I have been smoking for 25 years. Is it really worth me trying to give up?
- Can I take more than one smoking cessation product at a time?
- I have cancer. Should I still try to stop smoking?
If I give up smoking, how soon will I see the benefits?
Your body will benefit as early as the first few hours after giving up smoking. You may start to notice health benefits, such as coughing less, within the first few weeks.
Explanation
In the first few hours after quitting, the levels of carbon monoxide, a harmful chemical found in cigarette smoke, start to fall. High levels of carbon monoxide are toxic because they limit how much oxygen you can carry in your blood.
Smoking increases your blood pressure and makes your heart beat faster. However, both your blood pressure and your heartbeat will start to fall to normal levels soon after you quit. A few weeks after giving up smoking, your circulation will get better. Within the first month, you will start to look healthier as your skin appearance improves.
Smoking can cause considerable damage to your lungs, but you will see improvements very quickly after giving up. It's likely you will produce less phlegm, and cough and wheeze less within weeks of quitting. Your lung function could improve by up to 10 percent in the first three to nine months.
Over the longer term your chances of having a heart attack or lung cancer will fall. A year after quitting you will have halved your risk of having a heart attack. After 10 years of not smoking you will also have halved your chances of getting lung cancer.
After 15 years of not smoking your risk of having a heart attack will be about the same as that of someone who has never smoked.
Sources
- Quitting smoking - why to quit and how to get help. National Cancer Institute. www.cancer.gov, accessed 30 July 2008
- Smoking cessation - background information. What are the most important benefits of stopping smoking? Clinical Knowledge Summaries. http://cks.library.nhs.uk, accessed 5 August 2008
I have been smoking for 25 years. Is it really worth me trying to give up?
Yes. Whenever you give up you will experience health benefits from not smoking.
Explanation
The sooner you stop smoking, the more you will benefit. However, regardless of when you quit, you will still be better off than if you carry on.
Stopping smoking at any age will reduce your risk of developing a long-term illness caused by smoking, such as heart disease or emphysema. If you already have a smoking-related illness, giving up smoking can prevent it from getting any worse.
There is some evidence that suggests if you give up before you're 30, you will experience very little of the long-term damage that smoking can cause. One study shows that if you give up by the time you're 30, your chance of dying from an illness caused by smoking is a fraction (one-tenth) of that of someone who smokes for their whole life. You may also live 10 years longer than if you never give up smoking.
If you quit by the time you are 40, you could live nine years longer than if you carried on smoking, and if you quit by 50, you could live six years longer. Even if you're over 60, giving up smoking could mean you live three years longer than if you never give up.
Sources
- Quitting smoking - why to quit and how to get help. National Cancer Institute. www.cancer.gov, accessed 30 July 2008
- Doll R, Peto R, Boreham J et al. Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years' observations on male British doctors. BMJ 2004; 328:1519
Can I take more than one smoking cessation product at a time?
You can use some smoking cessation products together, such as the gum and the patch, but not all. If you want to combine your medication, speak to your GP or pharmacist first.
Explanation
If you have smoked a lot of cigarettes for a long time, you may find it difficult to give up. This is because the tobacco in cigarettes contains nicotine, which is addictive. When you first stop smoking, you may experience some nicotine withdrawal symptoms. For example, you may:
- feel sad or anxious
- become restless and/or irritable
- feel hungrier than usual and possibly put on weight
Your withdrawal symptoms will subside with time, but if they make it difficult for you to give up, you can try using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). This gives you small, controlled amounts of nicotine to help make up for some of the nicotine you inhaled when smoking, which will relieve your cravings and withdrawal symptoms. NRT comes in different forms, including:
- patches
- gum
- lozenges
- nasal sprays
- inhalers
Some doctors believe using nicotine gum or a nasal spray at the same time as a nicotine patch works better than using the patch on its own. The idea is that the nicotine patch gives you a low, constant supply of nicotine to minimise your withdrawal symptoms. When you have cravings, you can top up your nicotine levels with a quick, short burst using nicotine gum or an inhaler.
There are also some medicines without nicotine that can help treat your withdrawal symptoms, such as the antidepressant bupropion. If your GP prescribes bupropion to treat your addiction, you may be able to combine it with the nicotine patch.
Speak to your GP or pharmacist first if you're thinking of combining smoking cessation products.
Sources
- Quitting smoking - why to quit and how to get help. National Cancer Institute. www.cancer.gov, accessed 30 July 2008
I have cancer. Should I still try to stop smoking?
Yes. If you have cancer, giving up smoking may mean you're less likely to develop another tumour and could help you to live longer than if you carry on smoking.
Explanation
If you already have cancer, there are still many ways that giving up smoking can improve your health. It may:
- help you to recover more quickly after surgery
- mean you respond better to cancer treatments
- protect you against complications of surgery, such as pneumonia and respiratory failure
- lower the risk that your cancer will come back or that you will develop a separate tumour
If it's diagnosed early enough, some people who develop the most common form of lung cancer can be cured. If your cancer was diagnosed early and you have a good chance of recovery, giving up smoking will have the usual benefits. These include reducing your risk of developing:
- heart disease
- stroke
- lung diseases, such as emphysema
Sources
- Quitting smoking - why to quit and how to get help. National Cancer Institute. www.cancer.gov, accessed 30 July 2008
- Walker MS, Vidrine DJ, Gritz ER et al. Smoking relapse during the first year after treatment for early-stage, non-small-cell lung cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006; 15:2370-2377
- Smoking cessation - management. Clinical Knowledge Summaries. http://cks.library.nhs.uk, accessed 30 July 2008
Related topics
This information was published by Bupa's health information team and is based on reputable sources of medical evidence. It has been peer reviewed by Bupa doctors. The content is intended for general information only and does not replace the need for personal advice from a qualified health professional.
Publication date: November 2008
Giving up smoking factsheet
Visit the giving up smoking health factsheet for more information.
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