Health Index | Health News & Fitness Guide » Smoking

Fags will become under the counter items

Alan — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:02:36 +0000

Back in the 70s close to 50% of people smoked, today just 20% and even though it used to be very mainstream it came on step closer to falling off the edge when the recent banning of smoking inside bars and public places was instituted by the government in yet another way to discourage smoking.

Cigarettes and other tobacco products will have to keep under the counter in large stores starting in 2012 while High Street small shops have until 2015 to comply and generic type packages may become law for cigarettes to go along with the high taxes and the numerous visual warnings that are on the packages.

The fight against tobacco is on and England, and that legislation applied to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, has joined a group of countries to start that fight. Visible point of sale tobacco has been banned in Norway, the Irish Republic, Thailand and Canada meaning tobacco cannot be displayed close to the cash registers for impulse purchasing and Finland will discuss the law next year.

Saying she was happy the pressure from tobacco companies did not cause the government to give in, Amanda Sandford from anti-smoking group Ash, a move to a plainer packet eliminate thoughts that certain cigarettes are healthier than others.

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Help with stopping smoking

Alan — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:45:40 +0000

Smoking cigarettes can be very harmful to one’s health. If somebody you know smokes cigarettes regularly, you may wish to speak with them about the dangers of smoking. Nicotine is extremely addictive, which can make it very hard for most people to stop smoking. However, the risks of smoking are much worse.

Smokers can succumb to diseases like emphysema, lung cancer, oral cancer, heart disease, COPD, bladder cancer, and more. If cigarettes already seem expensive to you, just wait until you or somebody you love must pay for the treatment for these horrible diseases!

If you or somebody you know is looking to quit, there are a wide variety of online resources that can be used to help with the process. Here are just a few tips on how to help with the process of quitting smoking.

For one, it is very important to get in the right frame of mind for quitting smoking. If someone is trying to quit, they should truly believe that they will never smoke another cigarette. They will likely need the help of other people to help them achieve this goal, but if they have the right mindset, quitting will not prove to be too difficult.

As well, one who is trying to quit smoking can either try to quit without aids or with products that help them quit smoking. Things like lozenges can be very useful for those who cannot quit cold turkey. Nicotine gum and patches are also available. After 12 weeks of no smoking, all nicotine will have left your body, and you and the environment will be much healthier for it.

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NHS helping a lot of people to quit smoking

Alan — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:24:25 +0000

Figures show that the NHS smoking services aided a notable amount of people give up the unhealthy habit last year. According to the NHS Information Centre, about 374,000 people gave up smoking last year, which was up 11% from those who gave up the habit in the 2008-2009 year period.
The figures counted every person who was found to have successfully quit upon their four week check-up.
Another report issued from the centre found that one in twenty of every hospital admission is tied to smoking for those over the age of 35. It also concluded that last year almost 460,000 admissions were related to smoking.
The largest quitting rates were seen three years ago when the smoking ban was introduced in public places which Action on Smoking and Health member Martin Dockrell said shows how a proper plan can help people quit.
The ban was introduced in both Wales and England in 2007 and is seen as one of the highest motivators to those that quit over the year. Scotland introduced a similar ban the previous year in 2006.
65% of those who attempted to give up smoking chose nicotine replacement therapy to help them quit out of which 47% reported they were successful in giving up the habit.
A little under 25% of those used Champix, the controversial medication to quit smoking out which resulted in a 60% success rate.
Out of those who attempted to quit without the aid of drugs 49% were successful.

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Smoking ban results in fewer heart attacks

Alan — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:29:48 +0000

Over 1,200 less people were admitted into a hospital last year after suffering a heart attack due to the smoking ban that was put in place 12 months ago. Experts state that the findings prove that the new law is aiding in saving lives as planned.

It was found that related admissions across England fell by 2.4% since the ban was put in place. The research team behind the survey believes that those exposed to second hand smoke and smokers themselves benefited from the ban.

British Heart Foundation member, Betty McBride, stated that banning smoking from public places was a hard step to take, but now evidence proves that it was the correct decision with an average of three less people per day admitted to the hospital for a heart attack.

McBride went on to state that there are more benefits coming in the future due to the fact that tobacco smoke harms the heart in many additional ways and thus the government should view the positive results as a green light to take other measures such as banning cigarette vending machines.

The research was carried published in the British Medical Journal and carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Bath.

Another related study also reported that short people are one and a half times more likely to have problems with heart disease when compared to tall people which means that short people in particular should be concerned about their heart condition and eliminate smoking from their lifestyle.

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Reaping life insurance savings from giving up smoking

admin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:22:37 +0000

Do you need life Insurance? The answer is simple, if anyone would suffer financially if you died, either because of the income that would be lost or because of the extra money that would be needed to pay for the free services you provide, childcare for example, then you need life insurance. The main reason for buying life insurance is to provide financial protection for your dependants in the event of your death.

However, buying a life insurance policy is a pointless exercise if you are not willing to be completely honest with your insurance company. Pretending you don’t smoke or only drink a couple of glasses of wine a week in order to cut your premium is pointless. If you were to die and it was discovered you had been a smoker, it could invalidate your policy and leave your family with nothing. Disclose everything to the insurer, all past medical conditions and any risks. If not they can use ‘non-disclosure’ as an excuse not to pay out.

Being a smoker will not stop you from getting life insurance but it will bump up your insurance premium. If you have smoked cigarettes for a period of time within the last year (even if it’s just in social situations), or have you used other tobacco products, such as cigars or chewing tobacco then you are considered a smoker by life insurance companies. Your insurance premium is calculated based on the amount and the type of nicotine you use, and the period of time you’ve used it. If you’ve smoked before, and stopped smoking recently, or haven’t smoked for a long period of time, this can also factor in to calculating your rate. In simplest terms, the way the insurance company view it is if you smoke (even if only a few times a year), you are increasing the risk of health issues and sickness and in turn, will increase the risk of death.

Making lifestyle changes such as giving up smoking can reduce your premiums. However, most insurers will require a level of commitment before they will adjust premiums accordingly.

In order to be classed as a non-smoker and therefore qualify for life insurance premium savings, insurers insist on ex-smokers to have given up for a full year. Therefore, a person who has given up smoking on April 2nd 2009 would officially be classed as non-smoker on April 2nd, 2010. The savings that could be achieved by making this change could be around £227 on critical illness cover or £58 on a single life insurance policy. Add on top of this the additional savings you’ll make from no longer buying cigarettes and you have something to smile about.

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