If you want to stop smoking then thinking about the reasons why you don’t want to smoke may give you an incentive.

On top of the damage smoking can do to your health, there are financial considerations.

A 20-a-day smoker could spend over £3,500 in a year on cigarettes. If you stopped smoking, then that money could buy you a luxury tropical beach holiday every year instead!

If you have decided to stop, then plan so you can prepare yourself to break your habits:

Get rid of ashtrays or anything else that reminds you of smoking from your home.

Do something else at your normal smoking times, e.g. not sitting in the same place or waiting at a different bus stop.

Remember that cravings will usually pass after five minutes or so.

Little tricks like drinking a glass of cold water when you have cravings or distracting yourself by doing something active and keeping busy really can help.

Just take it one day at a time and before you know it a month will have passed and you will be well on the way to being smoke free.

It may help if you go on a smoking cessation course and use smoking cessation aids such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy like gums or patches.

Many local NHS services will offer free generic smoking cessation courses. Speak to your pharmacist or GP to see what help is available in your area.

You can also find information about how to stop smoking, as well as details of local stop smoking services near where you live on the NHS website www.nhs.uk/smokefree

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READ: SMOKING AND YOUR HEALTH