Quit4You - FREE Stop Smoking Service

If you smoke, you are putting yourself and those around you at greater risk of developing severe disease from the COVID-19 virus. Children in particular are affected by second-hand smoke.

Smoking causes damage to the lungs and airways which leads to a range of severe respiratory problems. The evidence clearly shows that the COVID-19 virus attacks the respiratory system, which explains why smokers are at greater risk of developing complications if they contract COVID-19.

Emerging evidence from China shows smokers with COVID-19 are 14 times more likely to develop severe respiratory disease.

Smokers are at greater risk of severe respiratory disease from COVID-19.

In addition, the repetitive hand to mouth movement provides an easy route of entry for the virus, putting smokers at greater risk of contracting COVID-19.
There has never been a more important time to stop smoking. Not only for your own health but to protect those around you.

If you are a smoker and are thinking about quitting please don't let COVID-19 Pandemic stop you. It is still vitally important that if you want to quit, you should. Smoking harms the immune system and so as a smoker you are less protected against infections like coronavirus.

Smokers are at a greater risk of:

• getting acute respiratory infections
• infections lasting longer
• infections being more serious than it would be for someone who does not smoke

It is never too late to quit, no matter your age.

Some of the reasons for not wanting to quit could include: 

• I can’t cope without it
• I enjoy smoking
• It is my life and my choice
• I’m only harming myself
• I’ve tried quitting - it’s too hard
• My friends and family also smoke.                                                      

Consider some of the benefits of quitting. 

I want to look, feel, and be healthier

• My chances of having cancer, heart attacks, heart disease, stroke, cataracts, and other diseases will go down.
• I will be less likely to catch colds or the flu, and will be able to recover quicker if I do get sick.
• I will breathe easier and cough less.
• My blood pressure will go down.
• My skin will look healthier and I will look more youthful.
• My teeth and fingernails will not be stained. 

Quitting will make you feel better and improve your health. But there are other reasons to quit that you might not have thought about. 

I want a better lifestyle

• I will have more money to spend.
• I can spend more time with family, catch up on work, or dive into my favorite hobby.
• I won't have to worry about when I can smoke next or where I can or can't smoke.
• My food will taste better.
• My clothes will smell better.
• My car‚ home‚ and kids won't smell like smoke.
• I will be able to smell food, flowers, and other things better. 

I want a better family life

• I will set a great example for my kids; it takes a lot of strength to quit.
• My friends, family, co-workers, and other loved ones will be proud of me.
• I will protect my friends and family from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
• My children will be healthier.
• I will have more energy to do the things I love with friends and family. I will get healthy to make sure I am around to share in my family's special moments.

For more details visit:

10 health benefits of stopping smoking

Smokers are 3 times more likely to succeed at becoming smokefree if they talk with a specialist stop smoking adviser. Quit4you are advising that all smokers have at least one annual quit attempt to go smokefree. If you want to meet with an adviser to discuss getting the best out of your 2021 quit attempt we will be happy to hear from you.

This year the 'Just Breathe' campaign is encouraging all work places to create smoke free staff areas as part of a combined effort to promote smoke free spaces and a Smoke Free Isle of Man. For more information contact quit4you on +44 1624 642404 or email quit@gov.im. To download a free 'Just Breathe smoke free staff area' poster to display and other Free Resources please visit our downloadable documents section.

Vaping and e-cigarettes can be a particularly helpful way to stop smoking tobacco especially when combined with a specialist face to face support.  Although experts say they are not entirely risk free, they are at least 95% less harmful than tobacco. 

The latest independent e-cigarette review, authored by leading academics in the tobacco control field, focuses on the up-to-date facts about vaping among adults and young people in England. 

Despite the sometimes confused, and confusing, media reporting around the safety of e-cigarettes, there is growing consensus around the evidence. While not without some risk, when compared to smoking cigarettes are far less harmful. 

This view is supported by a number of key bodies, including Cancer Research UK, Action on Smoking and Health, the Royal College of Physicians, the British Medical Association and recently, a major US science body, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 

Anyone who is considering using or who has already switched to vaping as a way to stop smoking is welcome to have a chat with one of our specialist advisers to see how we can support you.

A new post, 'Vaping and lung disease in the US: PHE’s advice' has just been published on the Public health matters blog.

Since mid-September, headlines around the world have warned about an outbreak of serious lung disease across the US, said to be associated with vaping. Read this blog on vaping myths to find out about PHE’s advice on e-cigarettes and vaping.

As a smoker it can be difficult to quit smoking if you feel you have no choice. Sometimes we have to reduce or stop smoking unexpectedly due to hospital stays, for example, and it may be that we do not feel ready to quit.

The Quit4aBit programme is designed to help and support you through this time. Contact us for more information on temporary smokefree solutions.

If you are a smoker and are pregnant or planning to be pregnant in the near future then stopping smoking is one of the best things you can do to look after your health and that of your unborn baby.

Specialist Stop Smoking Advisers are available to provide you with loads of information about how to quit smoking as soon as possible to give your baby the best start in life. Your health professional will refer you to our service however if you want to be seen sooner please contact us for a free consultation.

If your family has just grown a little person bigger and you want to quit smoking but it seems impossible right now then we totally understand where you are coming from.

Trying to quit smoking is hard enough but when you feel like those 5 minute breaks are all that keep you going; it’s even harder. We know where you’re coming from and so Quit4You advisers are ready to provide lots of really useful information about stopping smoking. Contact us to arrange a tea and chatter about how we can support you and your family to become smokefree.

If members of your family smoke then chances are you are all being affected by second hand smoke which has been proven to be harmful to health.

The Quit4You team are available to offer free professional advice on how to become a smokefree family, contact us to arrange a free consultation today.

What is secondhand smoke?

Secondhand smoke is simply other people's tobacco smoke, and is also known as passive smoke or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).

Secondhand smoke is made up of the smoke from the burning end of the cigarette plus the smoke that the smoker breathes out. But it is the smoke from the burning end of the cigarette that makes the most secondhand smoke, and this smoke is poisonous as it contains high concentrations of toxic chemicals such as hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, carbon monoxide and acrolein.

Why is secondhand smoke bad for health?

Secondhand smoke can cause very serious health problems - it does more than cause unpleasant side effects in some people like sore eyes, headaches, throat irritation and coughing.

Being exposed to secondhand smoke can increase a non-smoker's risk of getting lung cancer by 24% and the risk of getting heart disease by 25%, as well as being associated with many other medical conditions like the respiratory disease COPD and other types of cancer.

There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Just 30 minutes breathing in secondhand smoke can make blood platelets becomes more sticky, which means the person has a higher risk of having a heart attack or developing other heart problems.

Being in an enclosed place where people are smoking can be harmful, even if it does not appear smoky as 85% of secondhand smoke is invisible and odourless.

Secondhand smoke can also linger in an enclosed place long after someone has been smoking. Scientists have also found that ventilation systems are not able to eliminate the risks of secondhand smoke.

The World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer says that tobacco smoke is a substance that causes cancer in humans (a carcinogen). Other health and scientific organisations have also classified secondhand smoke as a carcinogen - like the poisonous substances arsenic, asbestos, and radon.

Secondhand smoke is particularly bad for health of children, causing serious medical conditions including childhood respiratory disease, middle ear disease and SIDS. Pregnant women who breathe in secondhand smoke can also pass on harmful chemicals to their babies.

Across the world and in a very short space of time, smokefree laws have proved to be highly effective in protecting people from the harm of secondhand smoke.

What does secondhand smoke contain?

Tobacco smoke contains a cocktail of over 4,000 different chemicals, many of which are toxic and damaging to health. Scientific research shows that secondhand smoke contains more than 50 known substances that cause cancer in humans.

Some killers in secondhand smoke that are hiding right beneath our noses include:

• Tar: which is known to cause cancer and lung damage
• Carbon monoxide: which is a toxic gas found in car exhaust fumes
• Benzene: which is found in petrol fumes and causes leukaemia
• Ethanol: which is found in anti-freeze
• Formaldehyde: which is an embalming fluid
• Hydrogen cyanide: which is classed as an industrial pollutant
• Arsenic: which is effectively rat poison
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon: which is found in diesel exhaust

• Never smoke in bed
• Use a proper ashtray – never a wastepaper basket
• Make sure your ashtray can’t tip over and is made of a material that won’t burn
• Don’t leave smoking materials unattended. They can easily fall over and start a fire
• Take extra care if you smoke when you’re tired, taking prescription drugs, or if you’ve been drinking. You might fall asleep and set your bed or sofa on fire
• Keep matches and lighters out of children’s reach
• Consider buying child-resistant lighters and match boxes

Top tip

Stub cigarettes out properly and dispose of them carefully.

Put them out. Right out!

Clients registering with the Quit4you service register their contact information for the purpose of receiving advice on smoking cessation. As part of your initial assessment and Quit Plan you may be offered Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), in order to receive this prescribed medication we will require your consent to share this prescribed medication with your registered GP Practice, to add to your patient record.

Any information provided by and about you is processed by the Public Health Directorate, Cabinet Office, Quit4You Smoking Cessation Service. Statistical information reported is anonymised. Information will only be shared without consent if there is an express lawful basis for doing so.

The Quit4You service will only process your personal information on a consent basis. You may withdraw your consent at any time by emailing quit4you@gov.im.

For more details on how the Cabinet office uses and protects your personal information view the Cabinet Office Privacy Notice

For details on how the Public Health Directorate protects your personal marketing information visit their Marketing Statement