Years ago people smoked because they thought they looked sophisticated or that smoking helped to bring down stress levels. They did not know that they were making themselves seriously ill, probably shortening their lives by around 20 years and that smoking actually increases anxiety levels. Even the actor who played the cowboy in the well-known Marlboro cigarette adverts died of lung cancer.

This is what they did not know then, but we know now:

• cigarettes contain around 3000 different chemicals including formaldehyde, arsenic, cyanide and carbon monoxide
• at least 30 of these chemicals give you cancer
• by the time you reach 60 years, you will have some form of degenerative illness
• every year, around 114,000 smokers in the UK die as a result of their habit. Since the 1950’s, 6 million smokers have died in the UK

On a more serious level, you may suffer from:

• heart disease, cancers, strokes, diabetes, high blood pressure, emphysema, impaired fertility and impotence, depression and many more illnesses

Most people find it is easy to give up smoking and wonder why they ever smoked in the first place. It may have been due to peer pressure when young but people now know it is not a healthy way of life and can take steps to stop.

Remember too that light smokers are just as much at risk – research shows that just one cigarette a day triples your risk of cancer and lung disease. Every single cigarette causes damage.

You need to genuinely want to give up smoking, because you will have to work at finding ways to replace that habit with healthier habits. As soon as you take that first step - deciding to give up smoking - you will be one of the 12 million people in Briton who are now successful ex- smokers.

On the positive side, when you stop smoking the body starts to recover quickly and your health starts to improve:

• within 20 minutes of your last cigarette blood pressure drops to normal
• after 8 hours carbon monoxide levels are normal, oxygen levels normal
• after 24 hours chances of a heart attack decreases, nerve endings start to re-grow, smell and taste improve, skin starts to improve
• after 72 hours lung capacity increases, energy levels increase
• after 3 months circulation improves, walking becomes easier, lung function increases by up to 30%
• your cough may get worse at first as it clears tar from the lungs