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Physical Health Benefits

Every time you smoke, lots of bad chemicals go into your body. When you quit smoking, your body starts to get rid of these chemicals and repairs the damage.

In just a few days,
you might notice:

Your sense of taste and smell gets better.
Breathing is easier.
You have more energy.
Activities feel easier (because your blood moves better around your body).
Less coughing and wheezing.

Your risk of getting ill from smoking goes
down a lot when you quit.

After 1 year, you are half as likely to have a heart attack as someone who smokes.
After 10 years, you are half as likely to die from lung cancer as someone who smokes.
After 15 years, your heart attack risk is the same as someone who never smoked.
You will also be less likely to get diabetes, bone diseases, eye problems, and memory problems.
When you quit smoking your skin looks brighter with a better colour, improved collagen production and reduced appearance of wrinkles!

Mental Health Benefits

You might think smoking helps you feel better and less worried, but it’s not true. Quitting smoking actually makes you happier and less stressed. After you get through the first tough days of quitting, you will feel less anxious, less sad, and less stressed. People who quit smoking feel happier than those who keep smoking.

Quitting smoking makes you feel:

Less anxious
Less sad
Less stressed
Happier
Smoking makes you more stressed

People often think smoking helps them relax. When you smoke, you might feel calm for a short time. But smoking tricks your body into thinking it helps with stress.

When you smoke, nicotine goes to your brain and makes you feel good for a little while. But this feeling doesn’t last. When the nicotine goes away, you feel grumpy and worried.

Then you smoke another cigarette to feel better.

Many people think smoking helps with stress, but it’s making it worse over time. This is what makes it hard to stop smoking, and stress becomes harder to handle.

People who quit smoking feel happier than those who keep smoking.
Evidence shows that when people have quit smoking, they have reduced anxiety, depression and stress.

Financial Benefits

When you start to quit, put the money you would spend on cigarettes into a jar or a savings account.

You will be surprised how quickly it adds up. Use our savings calculator to see how much you could save.

WeekMonthYear

If you quit smoking for a week, you could save
£45.50
enough for a family cinema trip or treating a friend to lunch.

Quit smoking for a month, and you will have saved nearly
£200
enough to pay for a couple of weekly food shops (dependant on household size!) a new appliance or an evening away.

If you stop smoking for a whole year, you could save
£2500
enough for a family holiday!