At your NHS Health Check, you may have talked to your healthcare professional about smoking.
If you smoke, you may have made the commitment to stop.
Benefits
Stopping smoking isn’t easy, but the benefits are huge. You will:
- reduce your chance of developing a range of serious diseases, such as heart attack, stroke, lung cancer and other cancers
- be able to taste food properly again
- improve your fertility, and chance of a successful pregnancy and healthy baby
- save money
Learn more in 10 health benefits of stopping smoking.
NHS support
If you have made the commitment to stop, you're four times more likely to succeed if you have NHS support. This is available without charge on the NHS.
Find out about the range of support available in Get help to stop smoking.
Your GP can talk to you about treatments that can help you stop. These include:
- nicotine replacement treatments, such as patches and gum, which are available on prescription
- medicines such as bupropion (Zyban), which can reduce cravings for nicotine
Your GP can also talk to you about other kinds of support. These include:
- Local NHS stop-smoking services. You can meet for individual or group sessions with trained NHS advisers, who can help you put your stop-smoking plan into action. You can find local stop-smoking services by talking to your GP, or by using our Service Search.
- The Go Smokefree website has information and advice on stopping. Download tools to your desktop or phone, and order a free Quit Kit, which will be sent to your home.
- The NHS free smoking helpline. This dedicated helpline is staffed by trained advisers who can provide information, support and encouragement while you go smokefree. Phone 0800 022 4332 (Mon-Fri 9am to 8pm, Sat and Sun 11am to 5pm).
You can learn more in How your GP can help you quit.
