From 1 October 2026, a new UK Vaping Products Duty begins and duty stamps start appearing on retail vape packaging. Here’s what the change means in Wales — and what it does not tell you about a product.
QUIT SMOKING IN WALES
Thinking about stopping smoking? Start here.
You do not need a perfect plan or the right amount of willpower. Smoking involves nicotine dependence, everyday routines and triggers. Once you understand those three things, quitting starts to make a lot more sense.
You do not need to work this out alone
Help Me Quit can help you work out what would make stopping easier.
- free NHS stop-smoking support
- free nicotine replacement therapy
- access to prescription stop-smoking medicines
- phone, local and pharmacy support
- a free bilingual app
No GP referral. No waiting list.
Latest Wales service data: NHS smoking cessation services treated 15,471 Welsh resident smokers in 2025–26, equivalent to 5.9% of the estimated smoking population. 3,606 people had a carbon-monoxide-validated quit recorded at four weeks. Welsh Government source ↗
FIRST, UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING
Smoking isn’t just a habit
When you smoke regularly, your body gets used to having nicotine. As nicotine levels fall, you can feel restless, irritable, anxious, distracted or like something is simply missing.
Smoking another cigarette can make those feelings ease for a while. That is one reason cigarettes can feel calming: some of the relief can be nicotine withdrawal easing.
This is nicotine dependence, not simply a lack of willpower.
The nicotine loop
1. You smoke
Nicotine reaches your body and the urge settles.
2. Nicotine levels fall
Withdrawal starts building again.
3. Another cigarette feels like relief
The cycle starts again.
Then smoking gets tied to everyday life
Nicotine is only part of it. Cigarettes can become linked with routines, emotions and situations until reaching for one feels automatic.
Which of these are yours?
First thing in the morning
Tea or coffee
A break at work
Driving or waiting
After food
Stress or pressure
Alcohol or socialising
Being around other smokers
What quitting can actually feel like
Withdrawal is real, but it does not stay at its strongest forever.
Within hours
Cravings and withdrawal can begin after your last cigarette.
Days 1–3
This is often the toughest stretch. Irritability, restlessness, poor concentration, sleep problems, anxiety or low mood can happen.
First week
Symptoms are usually still noticeable, but you are already learning when cravings arrive and what gets you through them.
Around 3–4 weeks
For many people, physical withdrawal has eased a lot. Triggers and old routines can still catch you out, so the plan still matters.
This is exactly where quit aids help
A patch, gum, spray, stop-smoking medicine or vape is not “cheating”. These options can reduce cravings and withdrawal while you change the routines built around smoking.
You can get help choosing rather than guessing.
WHAT DO YOU GET BACK?
Your body starts recovering quickly
You do not have to wait years to notice a difference.
20 minutes
Your pulse starts returning towards normal.
8 hours
Oxygen levels are recovering and carbon monoxide in your blood has reduced by half.
48 hours
Carbon monoxide has fallen to a non-smoker level. Taste and smell start improving.
72 hours
Breathing may start to feel easier and energy can increase.
2–12 weeks
Circulation improves, helping blood reach your heart and muscles more effectively.
1 year
Your risk of heart attack is around half that of someone who continues smoking.
And it is not just the health stuff
People stop for all sorts of reasons. More money. Not planning the day around cigarettes. Not standing outside in bad weather. Food tasting better. Walking feeling easier. Not worrying whether clothes or the house smell of smoke. Protecting the people you live with.
What would you most like to get back?
What is smoking costing you?
Use your own weekly tobacco spend, not a national average. Our calculator shows what that adds up to over a month, a year, five years and ten years.
Where are you right now?
Pick the one that sounds closest. You do not have to be completely certain before you take a useful next step.
I’m ready to stop
Get support, sort out what you’ll use for cravings and make a plan for your biggest triggers before the quit date arrives.
I’m thinking about it
Start with what you would like to gain, what smoking gives you now and which cigarettes would be hardest to lose.
I’ve tried before
Do not start from zero. Start with what happened last time and change the bit that caught you out.
MAKE THE HARD BIT EASIER
You do not have to quit on willpower alone
Quit aids can take the edge off cravings and withdrawal while you work on the routines and triggers around smoking.
Nicotine replacement therapy
What it helps with: nicotine withdrawal and sudden cravings.
A patch can give steady nicotine through the day. Gum, lozenges or spray can help when a craving suddenly hits.
Prescription stop-smoking medicines
What they help with: cravings and the pull of nicotine dependence.
A stop-smoking adviser can check what is available and whether a prescription option may suit you.
Vaping to stop smoking
What it can help with: nicotine cravings and the hand-to-mouth routine of smoking.
For adults who smoke, switching completely from cigarettes to vaping is much less harmful than continuing to smoke and can help some people quit.
Not sure which one is right for you?
You do not need to choose before you contact Help Me Quit. Tell them how much you smoke, when you smoke and what you have tried before.
Tried before? Start with what happened last time.
Was it a strong craving? Stress? Alcohol? Someone else smoking at home? Running out of NRT? One bad day?
That is useful information. Your next quit attempt needs more support at the point that caught you out.
If you had one cigarette after quitting, that does not have to become a return to regular smoking. Work out what triggered it and get back to the plan.
Change one thing for the next attempt
Add support. Try a different quit aid. Plan for your hardest trigger. Ask someone at home to change a routine with you.
More help when something specific is making quitting harder
Supporting a child or teen
Use the separate Parent Support hub for conversations, products and quitting help.
You do not need to work all this out yourself
Tell Help Me Quit how much you smoke, when you smoke, what makes stopping difficult and what you have tried before. They can help you build a plan around your life.
Free NHS support. Welsh or English. No GP referral.