Pretending to smoke a pencil instead of a cigarette, using a toothpick to keep hands occupied or substituting your fag fix for fun in the bedroom... Silly as they might sound, these are just some of the tried-and-tested methods that have proved successful for real-life quitters.

In England alone, over 80,000 deaths per year are due to smoking, a significant portion of the nation’s 8.5 million smokers. Over the past few month people across Europe have been sharing their real-life quit tips online for the European Union’s “HELP” campaign, and now our live and interactive Web TV show will be revealing the best tips. So if you’re one of the 69% of smokers trying to give up the habit, or know a close friend or family member who is trying to quit, make sure you tune in.

Before the show you can get involved by submit your own top tips – if they worked for you, chances are they might also work for someone else. Also featuring on the show for some expert advice is Professor Gerard Hastings, the Director of the Institute for Social Marketing and the Cancer Research UK Centre for Tobacco Control Research. He’ll be joined by Alison Walsh Youth Presenter & Advisor for QUIT, an independent charity whose aim is to save lives by helping smokers to stop.

Gerard Hastings and Alison Walsh join us live online to discuss the top tips to quitting smoking

For more information visit uk-en.help-eu.com/pages/index-2.html

H: Vicky Letch, Host
G: Gerard Hastings, Director of the Institute for Social Marketing and the Cancer Research UK Centre for Tobacco Control Research
A: Alison Walsh Youth Presenter & Advisor for QUIT

H: Hello and welcome to the Healthcare Show I’m Vicky Letch. In England alone over 80,000 deaths per year are due to smoking, a significant portion of the nation’s 8.5 million smokers. And with nearly ¾ of people trying to give up, there is no easy one-size-fits-all answer. Well perhaps over the course of the next 15 minutes or so we’ll be able to help you to explore a variety of different techniques that you can try to help kick the habit. Joining me today is Professor Gerard Hastings, and Alison Walsh from QUIT. Welcome to both of you

A: Thank you

G: Thank you very much

H: Thank you very much for joining us. And do remember at home of course we are live so if you have any questions for Gerard or Alison pop them in the box below and click submit and of course if you’re someone whose sat at home now thinking I’ve done it, I’ve kicked the habit and you’ve got some advice and tips for other people watching now who are trying to do the same, please do share all advice as well, that would be more than welcome. So thank you again both of you –

A: Pleasure

H: For taking the time to come and see us today. Let’s just start off with talking about – of course smoking, incredibly addictive and very difficult to give up. Very bad for you, but if you do give up you are talking potentially about extending your life

G: Oh significantly so yes. Not just the length of your life either but the quality of your life. You’ve got to remember that a lot of the illnesses that kick in with smoking like difficulty breathing, difficulty with circulation so you end up not being able to walk very well and so on, all these things will happen a lot earlier in life than they would otherwise, if you didn’t smoke

H: Yes. Yes

A: Absolutely and from the time you finish your last cigarette, pretty much the health benefits start coming, you know within 8 hours the level of carbon monoxide in your blood drops, and that’s the same sort of gas that comes out the back of a car exhaust

H: Wow

A: So you know if you can get rid of that from your bloodstream you’re going to have greater energy levels, better stamina, better concentration

H: Yes

A: And within 48 hours of stopping smoking you know you’ve got no nicotine left in your body at all, so you’re free of nicotine from a couple of days which is great

H: Which is really an exciting thing, because obviously that’s the addictive part of the smoking, is the nicotine, so to think within 2 days

A: Yes

H: Actually you are starting to reverse the effects

A: Yes absolutely

H: Which is quite exciting. Gerard what about people who have given up and they say it has changed my life in – this way – what are some of those ways?

G: Oh it’s a very, very powerful thing you know. For many people it will be one of the biggest achievements of their lives

H:Yes

G: That sounds a bit exaggerated but really it’s not, if it’s something you’ve been doing for 20 years and you put your cigarettes down and you stop having those – that prop, that friend, that addition to your life, that’s a big step

H: Yes

G: But the fact that you make your own mind up to it, you stick to it and you do it

H:Yes

G: That is a fantastic achievement. It’s transforming

H: Yes and I must say, particularly with my girlfriends, I’m not saying you gents aren’t aware of this, but with my girlfriends who’ve quit, they are literally horrified when they think I must have walked around smelling rather unattractive. Because I think you really notice that when you have given up, all of a sudden you think ah I’m wearing perfume and I can smell the flowers. You know you get your sense of smell back, you get your sense of taste back

G: This is particularly true now all public buildings have gone smoke-free, because – you’ve had this experience but you’re sitting in a pub or a cafe –

H: Yes

G: And somebody comes and sits down next to you whose been out for a smoke and they smell, you know because we’re all suddenly aware of it in a way that we weren’t before things were smoke-free

H: Yes

G: So yes absolutely

H: Of course we’re sort of jumping ahead of ourselves here, with giving you all of the benefits of giving up, but giving up is not necessarily going to be an easy ride. Some people may be surprised and it could be a more simple thing than they thought it was going to be, but for those people watching now that have tried and they have struggled and they think they’ve tried everything, Alison what would you say?

A: Ah, I would say just keep going. You know it can take a few attempts before people actually manage to quit smoking, so keep on quitting, and sort of don’t think so much about I’m giving up smoking, because you’re not – you know all you’re losing is just a smelly old cigarette. What you’re gaining, that’s you know – health benefits that will last you the rest of your life

H: Yes

A: You know longevity, you’ll look better, you’ll, you know, not age so quickly

H: Yes

A: Be fitter and obviously cut your risk of heart disease and lung cancer and all of those other, you know, preventable diseases, if you quit smoking

G: And speaking as a Yorkshireman as well, you’ll also have a lot more cash

A: Yes

G: Which is a very good thing

A: Absolutely, financially it’s a huge –

G: It’s an absolute winner

H: It’s true, I mean it is an incredibly expensive habit. A bit like my coffee habit, but that’s another show, we’ll do that another day. Now in practical terms, if someone thinks they’ve tried everything out there, Gerard if I say to you I’m quitting, I’ve tried patches, it didn’t work. I’ve tried, I don’t know, eating lots of oranges, it didn’t work. What other practical advice can you give someone?

G: Well first of all I’d say you need to look on this as a process, it’s a matter of sticking at it

A: Yes

G: Think of it a bit like passing your driving test. Yes it’s difficult, you’re going to need lessons and you’ll need to keep trying and practice with your mates, and then you practice with your examiner, maybe you did the test a couple of times before you passed it – but you pass it because you stick at it and stay at it, and people do. They get through

H: Yes

G: But as far as practical tips, I think the key thing we’re trying to get across in this campaign is that the best people to listen to are your mates

H: Yes, yes

G: Other people – other smokers who have given it a go, what do they do, how do they get through it? And I think there’s a really important collective side to the move against tobacco. You know to support each other in this fight

H: Yes absolutely. Alison I want to ask you this as a personal thing – I was chatting to a friend last night about this show and he said to me I quit smoking and the thing that helped me the most was pretending that I was smoking using a pencil

A: Right

H: I laughed, I fell on the floor, I thought you’re joking and said ha ha and he said no it’s true, it’s been scientifically proven if you hold a pencil and you pretend to smoke it, that’s one way to help you quit. Is that true?

A: Well I can see how that would work in that you’re dealing with the kind of hand to mouth action that you’re replacing instead of having a cigarette, a pencil. Some people find a lolly, you know –

H: Yes

A: A lolly sweet helps

H: Yes

A: Because often when smokers quit or try quitting smoking, their sugar levels drop and that adds to the craving being really difficult to bear, so if you have something sweet and also have that hand to mouth action

H: Yes

A: That can work really well, but obviously nicotine replacement therapy, you know the gum, patches

H: Yes

A: Can also really help a person succeed in quitting smoking

H: So there really are two sort of layers to this if you like. There’s the actual getting the nicotine out of your system, and then it’s breaking the habit, the physical habit of drawing something to your lips and then moving it away, and you think replacing the habit is a way forward?

A: Well sort of finding something else to do, like texting a friend to keep your hands busy

H: Yes

A: Because often smokers report finding that very difficult, I don’t know what to do with my hands

H: Yes

A: If they’re out sort of socialising they’re used to having a cigarette and it’s almost like having a prop

H: Yes

A: That people sort of rely on. So you’re dealing with a habitual side of it, but you’re also dealing with a chemical addiction as well, which is to do with the nicotine withdrawal. So if you can kind of have a method to suit both of those things that are a way of coping with those things, it can really help with the quitting process

G: It’s also worth bearing in mind that the UK has the world’s best, in fact, sensational service, the NHS will help you, if you’re really struggling, go along and get their advice and there are services up and down the country that you can get, which will not only provide the NRT, the nicotine replacement stuff, but will also provide both groups – help and individual help

H: Ok

G: So it’s there, go for it

A: Yes there’s also the HELP campaign as well help-eu.com which provides online support and also the QUIT line which is 0800 00 22 00 and there’s these free guides available for people wanting to quit smoking. So there’s lots of help available, it’s just a matter of accessing it really

H: Great. Right let’s start getting stuck into these questions then. This one is from Julia, thank you Julia – she says “how many years can I add to my life if I quite smoking now?” Gerard do you want to take that on?

G: Well first of all it’s not just the quantity of life you get it’s the quality so smoking doesn’t just kill you to early, it brings on all the symptoms of ageing earlier, so the wrinkles, the incontinence, the – you name it it all comes in early. And as to how many years, this is going to vary terribly from person to person, some people will die quite young as a result of their smoking. Most of the deaths occur in late middle age. So it’d be – anything – on average it would be ten years but of course that’s an average, so it may be a lot more than that

A: And something that I – when I speak to young people I say if you’re lucky smoking will just kill you. But it’s all the other diseases –

H: Yes

A: That affect your quality of life before that happens that really have that effect

H: And of course us sitting here knowing the effect that it has, I think the difficulty comes when – I mean for example I can talk to my friend whose quite a heavy smoker and say look I love you and I want you to have a long life, please give up, and then passion kicks in and you don’t necessarily approach that person in the right way, they’re sensible, clever people, they know it’s bad for them so their defences are up. Alison what are some of the tips you can give to people to approach people helping them to quit?

A: I always think don’t come from a kind of preaching angle and you know the thing is there’s no right or wrong way to do it, so it’s supporting that person, kind of – and getting in to their own personality and what would suit them best, so whether it’s saying hey you know next time you get a craving, you know give me a ring because we’ve sort of found that if you can occupy those 5-10 minutes of real intense craving for a cigarette, after that amount of time the cravings do subside

H: Yes

A: So if you can fill that time, that’s a really big way that a friend could actually help someone to quit smoking

H: Yes. Good practical advice. Excellent. Emma’s sent in a question, thank you Emma, and Emma says “I realise smoking is a bad habit but I work in a basement so it’s a great way of getting see sunlight.” See now Gerard I think this is going to be a huge issue for lots of people, their “Time out” if you like – going outside and having a cigarette is a break to them

G: It’s a very good point and in fact the first job I ever had was in a plant factory of all things, and there was exactly that culture that if you smoked you could go off to have a smoke. The non-smokers said this isn’t fair, we’re going to go out when the smokers go out, and so they did, so there’s no need to have a cigarette, they just went out and had 5 minutes outside and then came back in again, and it’d be a very harsh boss who said no you can’t go outside even though you’re not trying to kill yourself

H: Yes. Excellent. Dave, thank you for your question. Dave says “since I quit smoking I found the taste of it totally disgusting when snogging a bird.” Dave I assume you mean a young lady when you say bird but fine. He finds it a real turn-off kissing someone who smokes. Fair point. I don’t really know – shall we have a discussion –

A: Not a lot to argue there

H: Gerard do you go out kissing birds and think oh that’s vile, she smokes cigarettes?

G: Yes I think I’d wait to be invited actually

H: It’s always good yes. It’s always a good point

A: I mean we do laugh about it but it’s often something that, you know it’s a proven thing –

H: Yes

A: That it’s less attractive – if you smoke and you want someone to like you and kind of fancy you, if they’re a smoker – or if they don’t smoke and you do smoke it’s a real turn-off so –

H: Absolutely

G: And what is more the tobacco industry for years pumped out advertising which suggested that it did make you more attractive, and you know part of the reason for rejecting tobacco is to reject the lies that have been pumped at us for so long that made these corporations massive profits

H: Yes

G: So bear that in mind when you light up – it’s not a statement of freedom it’s a statement of slavery to the tobacco corporations

H: Yes

A: And it’s just not sexy. Look at Dot Cotton on Eastenders, I mean that’s not a good –

H: Love her but no – it’s not necessarily –

G: Snogging her’s another matter though!

A: Yes true

H: It’s another matter, and one we’re not going to go into in too much detail. Thomas from Bentley – hi Thomas. Thomas says “smoking is foul. Try drinking a nice glass of red instead – full of antioxidants and a great way to relax and unwind.” I agree. Don’t you?

G: Absolutely and it’s – it’s a matter of just keeping in moderation with the drinking

H: Yes

G: Clearly you don’t want to go down that route either, but nonetheless if it keeps you off the fags, absolutely

H: Yes. Actually whilst we’re talking of the drinks and the cigarettes – what about people that struggle specifically with that, because I know lots of people who continually try to give up and they always fall and – they do pick themselves up again – but they always fall when it’s that night in the pub and they’re having a drink and they think oh I’m dying for a cigarette now – what specific tips do you have in that scenario?

A: Something like chewing gum after having that drink can sometimes help. Using nicotine replacement therapy, maybe like the Inhalator, so you’ve got your drink and you’ve got your Inhalator and you’ve got that hand-to-mouth action going. It’s a difficult think and it’s something I think smokers need to be aware of is that often you know people say oh I forgot that I tried to quit smoking because they’ve had a few too many and literally just forgot, so that can lower motivation and will power as well, having a drink

H: Yes

A: So maybe to try and avoid those kinds of places just initially for the first few days

G: It’s also actually a good time to try and do this now because we do have smoke-free places so you know the days of just accidentally lighting up a cigarette in the pub

H: Yes

G: Are gone, because you’ve got to go outside to do it so –

H: Yes. It’s not so much of an accident then isn’t it, when you are making that decision to get up, go outside – stand in the rain

G: It’s a really good reminder as well that whatever you might think is sitting in the pub, that the vast majority of people don’t’ do this, we’re getting down to about a fifth of the population now, smoking, so 4/5 of people do not have anything to do with fags

H: Yes

G: So you are an oddity

H: And also think about us non-smokers, because I could be in a situation where I think I’ve been downgraded to coat watcher when on a night out – I think where’s everyone gone? And they’re all outside puffing and I’m sat there going oh this is fun. It’s not fun for us non-smokers. There I’ve had my say! And on a practical level, I know I’m not here to give the advice, but a very, very good friend of mine has successfully given up smoking and actually her tip that she swears by and I know it’s different for everyone is the chewing of gum. Not nicotine gum but she’s always got a packet of chewing gum, and whenever she wanted a cigarette when she was in the pub she would just chew chewing gum and it worked brilliantly for her

G: And it’s a good reminder Vicky, that’s what the HELP campaign is all about – help-eu.com to remind you of the website

H: Yes

G: But that’s full of people’s tips, real people who have tried to give up, who have succeeded in giving up and how they went about it. And as Alison said earlier, you know there isn’t one way of doing this, you need a whole variety of different methods

H: Absolutely

G: If sticking your foot in a bucket of manure is what does it for you, do it!

A: If it works do it

H: If that works yes. And if that does work, let me know. I’d be interested to find out! Alison what about people that are worried and concerned about a friend or a relative and they want to approach them or they want to help them. What advice would you give?

A: I think again you know just don’t go at it from a kind of a very push point of view. Find out maybe their smoking patterns, see maybe when their most likely to have their cigarette and really encourage them to quit, you know. If they begin to quit really show them the positives, you know often you will notice a difference in people’s skins, from – you know on their faces from stopping smoking, you know they’ll look a lot more vibrant, have more of a glow

H: Yes

A: If they don’t smoke, so it’s underlining the positives all the time really

H: Yes. And great when they see those changes themselves

A: Absolutely

H: And that will give them a little push in the right direction

G: And don’t forget the change in the pocket as well

H: So important, and I think as soon as people see that, that would certainly give them the extra push

G: So you can encourage them to buy you a nice present for example

A: That would be good!

H: Yes, lovely. Shoes, ladies, shoes! So Gerard we are here to talk about the campaign as well, specifically. Can you just outline the aims of it?

G: Well the HELP campaign has been going for some years now. It’s actually the world’s biggest ever anti-smoking campaign – you don’t like me saying anti-smoking –

A: Well we’re sort of smoking education, making people aware of the –

G: Yes anti-smoking makes it sound a bit negative, it’s not, as we’ve said several times already, you know giving up smoking, we think of it in terms of giving up – in fact it’s gaining

H: Yes

G: You’re taking back control of your life essentially, and the HELP has been pushing that theme for some years now, this year it’s specifically focusing on HELP in a very practical sense – tips on how you can avoid starting smoking in the first place, what you can do if you are fed up of your friends going off all the time to have a fag – in other words you’re suffering the side effects of second-hand smoke, or second-hand smoking. And also of course how you can give up, how you can quit

H:Yes

G: And it’s real people coming together virtually, on the internet to share their experiences and their hopes and their aspirations, and you know it’s fantastic because for the first time I think we’re really beginning to harness a collective movement against tobacco. I mean the reality is that all the predictions are that Britain will be smoke-free in a full sense in 20 / 25 years time. Nobody will smoke. It is going away and the retail sector refers to it as a sunset industry, it is going, and this is a recognition that there is a movement, there is a collective movement against this

H: And you have found quite a fun way to reach a wider audience with your new viral series, and we have an exclusive here, it’s very exciting – we’re just about to see a clip of that, so if you look down here we can see one of those

Video Footage

H: Ok so sort of a playful way of showing the dangers of smoking – specifically to reach a wider audience or –

G: Absolutely. I mean these are viral messages so they have to be intriguing and interesting enough for people to say oh that’s fun, I’ll pass it on, so you’re dependent on people engaging with it in some way and it is, and there’s 3 of these characters, each of whom have suffered the deprivations of tobacco one way or another, whether it be passive smoking, whether it be their own smoking, whether it be seeing young people start to smoke, and they get together ultimately and go down and take their revenge on the local tobacco factory and blow it to smithereens in a spectacular scene where the thing goes up in smoke

H: Wow

G: And as a result of that they get covered in toxic fumes, it’s a sort of Superman-type thing and they all end up as superheroes

A: Superheroes

G: As a result of it

A: Yes

H: Starring Brad Pitt – did I – I just made that last bit up yes

A: Not quite. But the really good thing about this is that it is very interactive so after each episode people can kind of get involved and make contact with the HELP campaign

H: Yes

A: And actually decide the fate of the characters in the next episode so it’s very much about passing on those kind of hints and tips that help other people quit smoking and incorporating it into that sort of cartoon, that animation. And the real – the style of it is fabulous, it’s not very reverent, it’s really – you know it’s really designed for young people to kind of get hold of and be kind of – quite cool really

H: Yes

G: So I am told

H: So you’re told! Now come on. Right time to squeeze in one last question, I’m afraid we have run out of time, but quickly from Johnny G, thank you very much – “I’ve never been able to afford to smoke – I can’t believe how expensive it is and what a waste of money.” I think that’s quite a good one to end on actually isn’t it?

G: Absolutely and remember profits are going into rich business men and women who have been exploiting smokers, have known for years now that one in two smokers are killed by their products

H: Yes

G: And they continue to profit from it, so that – every time you buy a packet of fags it’s going into their pockets

H: Yes and it’s not going into your pockets so you can save your money and do something nice for yourself, for your family and enjoy your life, yes! Alison let’s just end very quickly with you, with your helpline, your number for your helpline

A: Yes it’s 00 22 – sorry it’s 0800 00 22 00

H: One more time

A: 0800 00 22 00

H: One – no not one more time, only joking. Thank you so much to both of you, very insightful and I think it’s great to actually dig into the depths of how you can give up smoking so for lots of people out there who thought they’d tried everything, they probably haven’t and there is hope out there

G: Absolutely

A: Absolutely

H: Brilliant thank you so much. Now for more information on tips on how you can give up smoking do visit help-eu.com. Thank you very much for watching and I’ll look forward to seeing you next time. Bye bye

Still got a question or comment?

Name

Your question Question

Enter code