Quitting Smoking and tobacco control
Smoking is the leading cause of ill health and disease and over 60,000 people in Somerset are still smoking.
There is lots of support available to help people quit or reduce their smoking with support teams both in Somerset hospitals and teams in the community.
The benefits of quitting smoking are immediate with improved health such as better blood pressure and energy levels, improved mood and saving money.
Support to quit smoking.
Smokefree Somerset provide free support across Somerset to anyone who wants to reduce or quit smoking – For more information or to book an online appointment, visit: Smokefreelife Somerset – Smokefreelife Somerset (healthysomerset.co.uk)
Smoking in pregnancy.
If you are a smoker and planning to have a baby, the best thing you can do for you and your baby’s health is to stop smoking. Quitting smoking improves the lining of the womb. If you give up smoking, your chances of getting pregnant will increase. Women who smoke are twice as likely to be infertile as non-smokers. This is true for women trying to become pregnant for the first time and for women who have been pregnant before.
Stopping smoking will help both you and your baby immediately.
Smokefree Families is a specialist service offering non judgemental and friendly support for women and their families to quit smoking. For more information or to book an appointment online, visit: Preconception and Pregnancy – Smokefreelife Somerset (healthysomerset.co.uk)
Support to quit smoking if you are in hospital.
Hospitals in Somerset now have tobacco reduction teams who will support you to quit smoking whilst you are in hospital to help alleviate your nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
The team can then refer you to the community Smokefree Somerset service to support you closer to home to help you maintain your quit from smoking.
For more information – Smokefree – Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (somersetft.nhs.uk)
Vaping and e-cigarettes
Vaping and e-cigarettes can be a helpful tool to help adults who are smokers quit smoking.
Vaping and e-cigarettes are not recommended for anyone under the age of 18 or for people who don’t smoke.
SiCC and SLCC | Vaping and Young People in Somerset (youtube.com) – (Can we embed this video) for more information on the risks and reasons of young people vaping.
Young People smoking and vapes.
Children are three times more likely to smoke if their parents or carers do. Children who start smoking are more likely to smoke heavily and find it harder to give up, they are also at the greatest risk of diseases such as heart disease or cancer.
Vaping or e-cigarettes is not recommended for anyone under 18 as there is still a risk of becoming addicted to nicotine. It is illegal to sell vapes to anyone under the age of 18.
For schools, colleges and youth groups that want more support with how to address vaping, visit:
For any young person that wants support to quit smoking or vaping please contact Smokefreelife Somerset – Smokefreelife Somerset (healthysomerset.co.uk) or your local school nurse.
Somerset Tobacco Alliance
Smoking is the single largest cause of ill health and premature death, as well as one of the largest causes of health inequalities.
Somerset Tobacco Alliance is a partnership including public health, NHS colleagues, trading standards, environmental health, schools & education, fire services, housing and the voluntary sector.
Somerset still has high rates of smoking despite a drop in recent decades. The Tobacco alliance works to address all influences of smoking across society and help reduce rates of smoking. The alliance works to help people quit smoking, prevent people taking up smoking in the first place and reduce the impacts of illegal and illicit tobacco.
The Alliance has three main priority areas:
- To reduce the health inequalities caused by smoking
- To reduce smoking in pregnancy
- To protect children and young people from the harms of smoking and vaping
If you would like more information in the tobacco alliance or your organisation would like to be involved please use the ‘contact us’ form on this website.