If you are still healthy it is important to stop before you get an illness
due to smoking, especially if you also have raised blood pressure, are
overweight, take little exercise or heart disease runs in your family.
If you have just had a heart attack, one of the most important
decisions you can make is never to smoke again. You will find this easier
if you are in a non-smoking ward in hospital or if no one at home
smokes. Ask your wife or husband to support you in this way. Having a
heart attack gives you a very good motive for stopping smoking. Studies
in Scotland and Sweden have shown that most people can stop smoking
after a coronary attack.
Some find it easy to stop. Two-thirds of those who have stopped said
that they found it “surprisingly easy” although others find it very hard. First,
then, you need to take a calm look at the facts. Make a list of the advantages
and disadvantages of smoking.
How much do you spend on smoking each week, each year? Twenty
cigarettes a day costs over £500 a year (1986).
How many cigarettes have you smoked altogether? 20 a day for 30
about 200,000, 30 a day for 45 years about 500,000. The risk
increases with the number smoked.
years
At what age did you start to smoke? Those who started smoking at 15
have a greater risk than those who start after 20.