Smoking Cessation
Quitting smoking or avoiding exposure to secondhand smoke has immediate and long-term health benefits for smokers and non-smokers alike. Within minutes of quitting, blood pressure and heart rate start to return to normal. Within hours, carbon monoxide levels drop and oxygen levels increase. Within days, breathing becomes easier and sense of taste and smell improve. Within weeks, circulation improves and lung function increases. Within months, coughing and wheezing decrease and immune system improves. Within years, risk of heart attack, stroke, lung cancer and other diseases decreases significantly.
The Western Health and Social Care Trust runs a Stop Smoking Service which assists individuals who wish to stop smoking through adopting a supportive, empathetic and non-judgmental approach. This service is provided within primary and secondary healthcare, workplaces, schools and community/voluntary sector groups and is open to everyone. More people succeed with Stop Smoking Service than with any other way.
More information on the services available can be found at the link below.