Nicotine cravings can be hard, so preparing yourself to deal with them is the key to making your quit attempt successful.

The most popular way of dealing with cravings is with Nicotine Replacement Therapy or e-cigarettes. NRT is a way of replacing the nicotine that your body is craving without the thousands of dangerous chemicals that comes with smoking. E-cigarettes also do this by the user inhaling a nicotine-containing vapour.

If you think you might need something stronger to help you quit then there’s two types of stop smoking medication available on prescription if you’re over 18 – Champix and Zyban.

Gum

Not only does it provide a short burst of nicotine, but the chewing provides a distraction.

Inhalators

The method most similar to smoking a cigarette and it could be a good way to satisfy cravings while copying the ‘hand to mouth’ habit of smoking a cigarette.

Tobacco control campaign group ASH Wales Cymru have created a timeline looking at what happens to the body during the 24 hours of No Smoking Day.

• 20 minutes: After just 20 minutes of that last cigarette the body begins to recover. Nicotine, the addictive bit of smoking, is a stimulant which gives the body that ‘hit’, but this only lasts for a matter of minutes. Not long after the last puff of smoke, heart rate and blood pressure return to normal following this high.
• 8 hours: This is the testing time when most quitters reach for another cigarette. The effects of withdrawal are strong as nicotine leaves the bloodstream and cravings start to increase. A top tip is to find something to keep the mind and hands distracted – fiddle with a pen and pick up a crossword!
• 12 hours: Oxygen levels return to normal as poisonous smoke leaves the blood and body. It is this smoke which is the killer part of smoking, causing 1 in 2 long-term smokers to die from the addictive habit.
• 24 hours: Anxiety and ‘stress’ levels peak. The feeling of stress associated with quitting smoking isn’t really stress – it’s a sign of withdrawal. It’s untrue that smoking de-stresses – it just feeds a craving. In fact, research shows non- and ex-smokers feel less stressed than smokers.

Quitting smoking has enormous long-term benefits too as making it 10 years smokefree will see an ex-smoker’s risk of lung cancer, one of the most likely harms to a smoker’s life, become half that of a smoker. It’s great news for the heart as well; after 10 years smokefree the chance of a heart attack becomes the same as a non-smoker.

ASH Wales’ Chief Executive, Suzanne Cass, said: “No Smoking Day is a fantastic opportunity for smokers to give quitting a try and hopefully spur them on to say goodbye to tobacco for good. With thousands of others taking part of the day, would-be quitters can be reassured they’re not alone and there’s lots of great support out there, like with Help Me Quit, to keep them motivated throughout the day.

“Over 5,000 people die every single year in Wales from preventable illnesses caused by smoking. Every event like No Smoking Day or Stoptober which helps tackle this shocking statistic are crucially important and must be supported across Wales.”

The NHS offers a free stop smoking service in Wales called Help Me Quit. Smokers are four times more likely to stay smokefree with support than if they go it alone. To get free, local, and tailored advice visit www.helpmequit.wales, text ‘HMQ’ to 80818 or phone 08000 852 219.