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Information, Advice and sources of support for young people in Suffolk

Smoking and Vaping

Is it worth stopping?

The short answer is YES! Now is the perfect time to quit.

Reasons to quit smoking or vaping:

  • Save money – What would you spend your money on if you weren’t buying cigs, rollies or vapes? See below to calculate your savings.
  • You’ll breath easier and feel better when you stop. See NHS One You website for what happens when you quit
  • You’ll enjoy the taste of food more
  • You’ll have more energy
  • You’ll help save the planet…
    Four reasons why smoking and vaping are not eco friendly:
    1.Tobacco production accounts for 5% of overall deforestation in the world!
    2. Cigarette butts and e-cigarettes cause significant litter that damages wildlife and marine life. See the Keep Britain Tidy website #BinTheButt campaign
    3. Vapes contain metals, which can take many years to decompose, and plastic, and plastic never fully decomposes. Rather than decomposing, plastic turns into “microplastics,” or tiny pieces of plastic, which continue to pollute the environment and our food and drinking water.
    4. Vapes contain lithium-ion batteries which can cause fires if not recycled properly.

Add up how much you spend on cigs or vapes each week and then multiply that by 52. How much money could you save in a year if you didn’t smoke or vape?

Vaping, E-Cigarettes, E-cigs – know the facts

Vaping has become a popular way to quit smoking tobacco. But there is a still a lot of confusion and myths around vaping and whether it is safer than smoking.  

Smoking cigarettes is very harmful and is a leading cause of preventable death in the UK. Every minute somebody is admitted to hospital because of smoking. Stop Smoking services, following government and NHS advice, say that Vapes are safer than smoking, but only safer when compared to smoking cigarettesthis does not mean vaping is safe.  

The Evidence

  • Non‐smoking young people who use vapes are three times more likely as non‐vapers to start smoking tobacco and to become regular smokers (because Vapes have Nicotine in them). 
  • Many vape liquids contain nicotine, even when they claim not to. Nicotine is very addictive.  
  • Our brain develops up until we are 25 years old so using nicotine while your mind is still developing can be harmful – causing poor mental health, headaches and sleep problems.  
  • Vaping and cigarettes can both cause side effects of headaches, coughs, sore throats, dizziness, nausea. Both can be bad for injuring your lungs. Like cigarettes vapes can cause bad breath, ulcers, soreness and a dry mouth which may lead to tooth decay.

Things to be aware of…  

  • Long term effects of vapes are unknown.  
  • The flavours in vapes are known to be safe to eat, but the impact of inhaling them in to the lungs is not known. 
  • Some illegal vapes contain high levels of chemicals such as lead, nickel and chromium.
  • When you buy a vape check details for how to correctly dispose of it. 
Vaping and e-cigarettes
The legal vaping age in the UK is 18. You must be 18 years of age to purchase e-cigarettes or e-liquids from any UK vape shop or online store.

Tips for quitting vaping

Work out why you want to stop vaping.  

Make a list somewhere of all the different reasons you want to stop and when it gets difficult or you want to try ‘just one puff’, remember to look at this list to remind you of all the reasons.  

Decide the best way for you to quit 

Have a look at the list below and decide which way suit you best.  

Increase the time between vaping – Try going from every 30 minutes to every 1 hour and so on to ease your way off the habit. 

Set rules- Go through the times and activities that most trigger your vaping. Work out how you can change your habits to avoid the triggering temptations. Decide places/times where you will try to avoid vaping. Such as only vape when in the garden and not on your daily walk home from school. This can help you to reduce how much you vape but also weakens the link between vaping/smoking in certain situations and times.  

Tips for stopping smoking

Again work out the reasons why you want to stop to keep you motivated

Make a plan for how to reduce the amount you smoke – set your rules for quitting.

Stop smoking in one go – If you want to completely stop smoking and are over the age of 12, then speak to a pharmacist for advice. You can Order a free quit kit – (if you are 18+) through your local pharmacy to help increase your chances of quitting.
Get some great tips to help you quit from the NHS website.

You’re more likely to stop smoking with the right support.

In 4 easy steps, the Personal Quit Plan tool from Better Health can help you quickly find the combination that’s right for you. Give up for 28 days, and you’re 5 times more likely to quit smoking for good!

Please note: Feel Good Suffolk are now providing local quit smoking services instead of One Life Suffolk which the tool directs you to.

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Page updated on March 5th, 2024 at 05:41pm