Is smoking bad for your hair?

Did you know that as a smoker you could be doing serious damage to your hair?
Every time you light up a cigarette your hair is surrounded by a cloud of toxic fumes, which scientists say can lead to premature baldness and going grey. Here are some of the reasons why quitting smoking is better for your hair: 

Brittle hair

Cigarettes contain 4,000 different chemicals and gases so it’s no surprise that smoking affects the quality of your hair, which will be filled with toxic fumes every time you light up. Smoking also restricts the amount of oxygen your cells can carry around your body which means your hair is not supplied with enough nutrients or fresh oxygen from your blood stream.  As a result many smokers have dry, brittle hairs that snap off before they are fully grown because they have become malnourished.

Going grey

Scientists believe that smoking may accelerate premature grey due to the toxins in the smoke that can harm hair follicles and damage hormones. A report published in the British Medical Journal, which studied 600 men and women half of whom were smokers, found  a ‘consistent link’ between smoking and early graying of the hair.

Baldness

Smoking has been linked to baldness. A study carried out in Taiwan, and published in the Archives of Dermatology, found that smoking at least 20 cigarettes a day was linked to an increased risk of baldness. The researchers suggested that this may be because smoking damages hair follicles and causes damage to the cells at their roots.

Third-hand smoke

Third-hand smoke is the name given to the toxins and particles that cling to furniture and fabrics, long after you’ve stubbed out your cigarette. Hair, which is highly absorbent, soaks up these particles so that even the most fragrant of  shampoos won’t disguise the stink of cigarette smoke in your hair and the hair of those who are near you when you smoke.  Only giving up smoking completely will improve the smell of your hair.

How good timing can maximize your chances of giving up smoking

THERE’S no perfect time to stop smoking. However, by following these basic rules, you can boost your chances of success.

Steer clear of stress

It’s best not to coincide your quit attempt with stressful situations in your life. Most smokers light up because they believe smoking helps them to relax. If you’re one of them then you’re more likely to cave in and start smoking again if you try to quit when facing challenging events. Obviously it’s impossible to predict when life will become stressful, or to avoid stress altogether, but if you know a stressful event is looming on the horizon, then think twice before deciding to quit at that time.

Party time

Lots of smokers quit in the New Year and there’s a good reason for that – the party season is over.
Temptation lies around every corner during big social events, from the crowds congregating for a communal smoke outside, to the urge to have a smoke with a drink in your hand.  If you’re a social smoker who tends to smoke while socialising, it’s particularly important to think about whether to quit smoking during the festive party season as you may find it harder to resist the temptation to light up. Likewise, if you have a big family event, wedding or party coming up then time your quit attempt wisely.

Holiday showdown

Booking a holiday is a fantastic way to celebrate quitting smoking and a great way to spend that extra cash you’ll save as a result. However, if you give up  during your break, the urge to have a cigarette while sipping your evening cocktail may prove too much. And while holidays are supposed to be a time to relax, they can prove stressful, particularly those involving children or extended family.  So why not wait until you’re home or delay booking your break until you’ve actually given up.

 Out of office

Smoking can become a big part of people’s daily routines. A cigarette in the morning before breakfast, smoking on the way home after work and taking smoking break with colleagues are hard habits to break. If you work and are serious about quitting, you could consider booking a few days off work to break up your usual routine and improve your chances. Quitting smoking while you’re off work will mean you can really focus on your goal and combat your cravings away from the stresses and distractions of working life.

Preparation is everything

When it comes to planning your quit attempt good preparation is key. Set a date and stick to it. Once you’ve decided on the date then plan what you’ll need in place to help you quit. If you’re going to use nicotine replacement therapy to cope with nicotine cravings, make sure you research what products are available and collect some in advance so that it’s there when you need it.  Your GP and pharmacist can help you to decide what to take. If you’ll be quitting using an e-cigarette, visit your local vape shop and buy a starter pack to get you going.

Tell friends and family in advance that you’re planning to give up so they can be there to provide support and motivation if you need it. Plan activities to distract you from cravings and decide on  a coping strategy if you find yourself in a situation where you’re tempted to smoke.

Nicotine addiction and the unconscious brain

Nicotine is the addictive stimulant within tobacco cigarettes and the chemical which changes your brain chemistry and habits. Nicotine will get you addicted to tobacco cigarettes however the most serious health problems are caused by other ingredients which include formaldehyde, cyanide, ammonia and tar.

Do you have a daily smoking routine?  Most smokers say they get an urge for a cigarette at particular times of the day e.g after breakfast, drinking coffee, waiting at the bus stop.

This is a result of the nicotine changing your brain chemistry, which then changes your daily routine.

When you carry out every day activities and have a cigarette your subconscious brain remembers the nicotine hit and the release of the feel-good chemical dopamine. The nicotine nudges your brain to produce dopamine and an adrenaline rush which then becomes associated with that activity. The drug and the action become interlinked without you even knowing.

Smokers often struggle when trying to quit as the nicotine hit is gone but the daily habits and rituals are still there. Alongside treating the physical cravings, we also need to address these patterns of behaviour that the unconscious brain has associated with smoking.

If you’re trying to quit – try changing your routine or finding alternative activities that don’t trigger the urge to light up a cigarette.

Morning Routine

If you get the urge to smoke first thing in the morning you could try taking a shower immediately when you get up or make a cup of tea to keep your hands busy. Try to find an activity that both rewards and distracts the brain.

At Work

If you’re used to going out for a smoke break with colleagues, perhaps ask a non-smoking colleague if they’d like to join you for a brisk walk instead. Make sure to do this away from the smoking area and you’ll still get that reward of social time, just without the cigarette.

Out Socialising

If you usually have a cigarette whilst out socialising, try avoiding designated smoking areas outside buildings. Tell your friends and family about your decision and ask for their support to help with the social pressure. Alcohol is a known smoking trigger, maybe try cutting back on alcohol in the first few weeks after quitting, or make sure to go out with others who can support you to stay smokefree and remind you why you decided to quit, as alcohol often effects our sense of judgement.

FALSE – Nicotine will get you addicted to tobacco cigarettes however the most serious health problems are caused by other ingredients which include formaldehyde, cyanide, ammonia and tar.

]If you’ve quit smoking or are thinking about quitting take note of the times of day when your craving for a cigarette is at its highest. Once you start to take note of this behaviour it will be far easier to manage once you’ve quit. It is also important to remember that these small lifestyle changes don’t have to last forever, but alongside treating the physical addiction they will help you to control the unconscious brain and break the daily habits which tend to keep people smoking.

Welsh teens share their smoking struggles with ASH Wales

Across Wales 9% of 15 to 16-year-olds smoke and this figure hasn’t changed for 4 years, a classroom’s worth of children still take up the habit every day.

ASH Wales spoke to Abi and Sophie from Bridgend who started smoking at the ages of 14 and 12, to find out more about why young people continue to smoke in Wales and the challenges they face when trying to quit.

Sophie, 17,

I started smoking when I was around 12 and a half. I was out with my friends who smoked and I was having family issues at the time. I found that it helped with my stress levels

I suffer with depression and if I wake up in a bad mood I’ll smoke around 25 to 30 fags a day. On a good day I’ll smoke 15 to 20 cigarettes a day. It really improves my mood.

Usually I get my friends to buy fags for me because I look young for my age and there are shops that won’t serve me but they will serve them even though they are the same age.

I spend my wages on cigarettes and I know I’d have a lot more spare cash if I didn’t smoke. I’d spend it on clothes, shoes, make up and going out with the girls instead.

I did manage to give up for six months a while ago, but I started again because I had family problems.

Most people who know me say they never would have guessed that I’m a smoker. I hate smoking, I despise it. It’s a dirty habit, but I rely on it for my mental health.

I was shocked to hear that 17% of people in Wales smoke. I thought it would be more like 70% because everybody around me smokes. It’s a lot harder to quit when everybody else in your family does it.

It’s definitely starting to affect my health. We have to go up two flights of stairs to get to the top floor at our training centre and by the time I reach the top I’m gasping for breath.

Abi , 17

I was 14 when I started smoking. My father had passed away and everybody around me was smoking and I just thought it was a cool thing to do.

It’s a dirty habit and it makes your clothes smell of smoke. But I can’t help it now because I’ve been smoking for so long.

I do it more when I’m stressed. If it’s a bad day, I’ll smoke around 15 to 20 cigarettes a day and on a good day it will more like 10 to 15.

Every week I spend around £20 on cigarettes and I usually ask my partner to buy them for me.

I once smoked an illegal cigarette, but it was disgusting. You could really taste the chemicals in it.

I’ve definitely got less money than if I didn’t smoke. I’ve tried to quit using nicotine spray but I didn’t like it. In future I’m planning to try again but I’ll cut down the amount I smoke first, not just quit straightaway.

Around here everybody smokes. Literally there are people smoking everywhere, and it makes you want to have a fag even more. All my family and friends smoke too.

I don’t think there are enough resources available to help young people to stop smoking. I didn’t know that you could get help from a pharmacist to give up.

I think it would put people off if they made the age you could buy a cigarette 21 instead of 18.

Find out more;

Smoking and mental health 

Smoking and young people 

ASH Wales welcomes proposal to end smoking in England by 2030 and urges Welsh Government to follow suit

ASH Wales has urged Welsh Government to follow in England’s footsteps after proposals to end smoking by 2030 were announced.

Under the plan contained in the Government’s Prevention Green Paper, every smoker being admitted to hospital would be offered help to quit. The paper proposes raising revenue to support smoking cessation services which would be focused on those groups most in need. It highlights the role that technology can play in delivering focussed, personalised support.

The paper also proposes setting an ultimatum for the tobacco industry to make smoked tobacco obsolete by 2030 so that smokers would quit or move to less risky products like e-cigarettes instead.

ASH Wales supports these proposals and believes there would be strong support for similar action in Wales. According to its latest YouGov survey into attitudes towards tobacco control in Wales, 68% of Welsh adults would support new government action to reduce smoking rates to less than 5% by 2035. Meanwhile 47% of Welsh adults feel the government is not doing enough to reduce smoking prevalence in Wales.

The Welsh Government target is to reduce smoking to 16% of the population by 2020 as part of its Tobacco Control Action Plan.

Suzanne Cass, CEO of ASH Wales, said: “We whole heartedly support this ambitious target to eliminate smoking in England in 2030 and believe we should strive for the same goal here in Wales.

“Tackling smoking has become a key priority for the UK government and there is a new sense of urgency around the issue which we hope will create opportunities to provide innovative solutions to reduce smoking.

“Here in Wales smoking kills around 5,388 adults every year and costs the Welsh NHS £302 million a year. It is the cause of stark health inequalities across the country, hitting our most deprived communities the hardest.

“We know how challenging it is to reach smokers, with 17% of all adults in Wales continuing to smoke, despite free smoking cessation support being widely available from Help Me Quit. And, despite concerted efforts to raise awareness of the harms of smoking among young people, 9% of 11-to-18-year olds in Wales continue to smoke at least weekly.

“Wales will only become a smoke free nation if innovative and targeted smoking cessation support is provided for those adults and young people who need it most, such as social renters, people experiencing mental health problems and those living in our poorest communities.”

She went on to say that any plan to tackle smoking prevalence must be accompanied by efforts to tackle illegal tobacco, which is sold at pocket money prices across Wales, undermining tobacco control policy and allowing smokers in deprived communities to continue to smoke.

“A big challenge we face here in Wales is illegal tobacco which accounts for 15% of all tobacco sales in the country currently. Any efforts to stamp out smoking must be accompanied by robust enforcement action to prevent illegal tobacco from undermining the government’s tobacco control measures.”

What happens when you quit smoking

Are you hoping to give up smoking? Then read our guide to find out what happens when you kick the habit…

Bouncing back

Did you know that the health benefits of quitting smoking kick in within just 20 minutes of you stubbing out your last cigarette?

Here’s what happens to your body when you give up smoking:

⏲️ Within 20 minutes: Your pulse rate returns to normal

 Eight hours: The nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in your body reduce by more than half and your oxygen levels return to normal

48 hours: Carbon monoxide is eliminated from the body and the lungs start to clear out mucus and smoking debris. By this time there is no more nicotine in the body and your sense of taste and smell will be better.

72 hours: Your energy levels will improve as breathing becomes easier and your bronchial tubes start to relax

2 to 12 weeks: The blood circulation improves

3 to 9 months: Lung function increases by up to 10 per cent and coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve

 1 year: Your risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker

10 years: The risk of you developing lung cancer has fallen to half that of a smoker

15 years: You now have the same risk of having a heart attack as somebody who has never smoked in their life

Money, money, money

When you quit smoking you’ll also enjoy a far healthier bank balance.

If you smoke 20 cigarettes a day you’ll be saving £72 a week and £312 a month once you quit. Within a year of giving up you’ll have an extra £3796 a month in your pocket. Enough for a fantastic holiday in the sun ☀️.

Meanwhile 10-a-day smokers will find themselves £156 a month and £1898 a year better off once they quit.

Those who prefer to smoke rollies will save £480 a year if they smoke 5 a day, £960 a year, for 10 a day and if they smoke 20 a day, an incredible £1921 a day.

Friends and family

By stopping smoking you’ll improve the health of your family and friends by reducing their exposure to second-hand smoke, which carries significant health risks.

Every cigarette you smoke contains 4,000 chemicals and at least 50 of those cause cancer, even when contained in second hand smoke.

Exposure to other people’s smoke raises the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers by 20 to 30% and coronary heart disease by 25 to 35%.

Children are most at risk from the harms of second-hand smoke.  It increases young infants’ risk of lower respiratory tract infections by around 50%. It also more than doubles a child’s risk of invasive meningococcal disease with the greatest risks for those under 5.

Home sweet home

Your home will be a happier and healthier place once you quit smoking. When you smoke in your home, 80% of cigarette smoke is invisible and it lingers around the house for up to 5 hours. The smoke is made up of particles that are smaller than household dust, so it moves easily from room to room. As well as posing a health risk to your family and friends, third hand smoke, the residue left behind after smoking, builds up and stains surfaces and furnishings.