No Smoking Day is nearly upon us, so if you have been thinking about giving up smoking this is the perfect time to take the plunge and make a stop smoking attempt.
When is No Smoking Day?
The first No Smoking Day campaign was on Ash Wednesday in 1984 and since then it has taken place on the second Wednesday of March every year. This year No Smoking Day is on Wednesday 13th of March, with a focus on the many health benefits that come with quitting smoking, and how quitting is the best thing you can do for your health.
What is No Smoking Day?
No Smoking Day, otherwise known as ‘Today is the Day’, is an annual health awareness campaign in the UK dedicated to helping smokers quit. The first No Smoking Day took place in 1984, and as you can imagine the resources, tools, and support available have come a long way since then. This year marks the 40th anniversary of this campaign, and over those years smoking prevalence has reduced by two thirds.
Over the years the campaign has become a collaborative effort backed by a number of health organisations including Breathe 2025 and Action on Smoking and Health. The aim is to help smokers access support in their quit attempt and show them that no matter how long you have smoked for, or how heavy of a smoker you are, you can quit and that quitting can be life-changing.
The today is the day campaign advises that even if you have made stop smoking attempts in the past and have not been successful, don’t give up on giving up. Every time you try to stop you are a step closer to success. You can access your local stop smoking resources at Today is the Day or by searching ‘NHS smokefree’.
What can happen after your last cigarette
You may not know, but after your last cigarette your body starts to see changes almost straight away. After just twenty minutes your pulse starts to return to normal, and within eight hours the amount of carbon monoxide in your blood has halved, and your oxygen levels are normalising too.
Two days after that last cigarette your body is working to recover, flushing out all of the carbon monoxide and clearing the mucus from your lungs. You may even start to notice that your sense of taste and smell are heightened, and within three days breathing is easier, and your energy levels are rising.
Two to twelve weeks after you quit your circulation has improved and blood is now pumping to your heart and muscles more efficiently. Over the next nine months your lungs will start to work better, so you’ll experience less coughing and wheezing.
After a year of being smokefree your risk of a heart attack has decreased by half. Plus, research suggests you’ll be feeling happier than if you had continued to smoking.
As the years progress your health will continue to improve, reducing your risk of smoking related illness and helping you lead a better life. When you consider that two in every three smokers will die as a result of long-term smoking, around 64,000 deaths annually, there really isn’t anything better for your health than to quit smoking.
Check out this short video to see more benefits of quitting smoking.
Make the switch from smoking to vaping
Reaching out to your local stop smoking services for support is an important first step, and getting support can make you up to three times more likely to remain smokefree. However, it is also important to have a nicotine replacement tool that can help you manage your nicotine cravings and avoid withdrawal symptoms.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities have found that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking, and the Cochrane review has identified e-cigarettes to be twice as effective as other nicotine replacement therapies like patches and gum. In fact, the NHS have found that almost two-thirds of people who used a nicotine-containing vape alongside stop smoking support successfully quit.
Using an e-cigarette allows you to keep your nicotine cravings at bay using nicotine containing e-liquids, without inhaling any of the harmful toxins found in cigarettes like carbon monoxide and arsenic. E-cigarettes also help address the physical habit of smoking because you are still inhaling through the device the same way you would when smoking, and starter vape kits are designed to have an airflow design that replicates the feel of smoking a cigarette.
Prefilled pod kits
Prefilled pod kits are one of the most simple and easy to use types of vape kit, and they are an ideal option if you are new to vaping and want a device that is straight forward, discreet, and requires little maintenance.
Prefilled pod kits tend to be extremely small and lightweight, and the built-in battery can be recharged quite quickly through USB cable, so you can even charge them through your computer or games console.
Prefilled pod kits like the Elf Bar ELFA PRO do not have a tank but instead are compatible with a range of pods that are purchased prefilled with e-liquid. This means that there is no need to refill the pod or change the coil, once the pod is empty it can just be replaced with a new one in just a click. The pods are available in a variety of different flavours depending on the brand, and are made specifically to fit the device so they pop in and out of place when you need them to, but remain secure when not in use making them easy to store in your pocket or bag.
Some devices like the Vuse Pro not only offer a wide range of flavours but also offer different nicotine strength options so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. If you are unsure on how much nicotine you need, take a look at our blog post ‘Which strength e-liquid should I use?’
Refillable vape kits
Refillable vape kits allow you to explore the wider range of compatible e-liquids, so you can choose the exact flavour and strength that you prefer, and can top up your tank or pod whenever needed.
These devices tend to be a bit bigger in size than prefilled pod kits, but also offer more power so you can vape for longer between charging. Rather than having to replace the pod every time it is empty some devices, like the Vaporesso XROS 3 Mini kit have refillable pods which can be filled with e-liquid multiple times before needing to be replaced. Other devices like the VOOPOO Argus Z kit have changeable coils which means you will just need to replace the coil once it starts to taste burnt.
These kinds of devices require a little bit more knowledge and maintenance, but are still designed to be perfect for new vapers and offer an inhale that feels similar to smoking a cigarette to help make the switch from smoking to vaping as easy as possible.
If you are thinking about making the switch from smoking to vaping this No Smoking Day, why not pop in to your local Evapo store or speak to a member of our Customer Service team. We also have lots of information on making the switch to vaping and choosing the right vape kit in our ‘Switching made simple’ and handy how to guides.
Sources
gov.co.uk 29/09/2022
cochrane.org 17/11/2022
