Every year about 78,000 people in the UK die from smoking.  For every death caused by smoking, around 20 smokers are suffering from a smoking related disease. It is the number one cause of preventable death and illness in the country. About half of all lifelong smokers will die early, losing 10 years of life on average. The earlier you quit the less life you lose.

According to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH, 2015), an estimated 207,000 children in the UK start smoking each year. About two thirds of adult smokers report that they took up smoking before the age of 18.

The younger a person starts smoking, the greater the harm is likely to be. Child and adolescent smoking causes serious risks to health both in the short and long term. Children who smoke are more susceptible to coughs and increased phlegm, wheeziness and shortness of breath than those who do not smoke.

Smoking impairs lung growth and may lead to an increased risk of chronic obstructive lung disease later in life. The earlier children become regular smokers and keep smoking as adults, the greater the risk of developing lung cancer or heart disease.

Nearly two thirds of pupils report being exposed to secondhand smoke. Bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma and sudden infant death syndrome (cot death) are more common in infants and children who have one or two smoking parents.

Around one in six of all deaths of adults aged 35 and over in England are estimated to be caused by smoking.

Most smoking-related deaths are from one of three types of disease: lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis) and coronary heart disease.

Stopping smoking can:

• help you breathe more easily
• give you more energy
• relieve stress and anxiety
• leave more money for you and your family
• improve sense of smell and taste.
• improved fertility
• give younger looking skin
• give whiter teeth and fresher breath
• help you live longer.
• get healthier for the sake of your loved ones

Please see the list of stop smoking services below to find out where to go in North Tyneside for support.

To find out what’s available in North Tyneside visit Active North Tyneside or call (0191) 643 7171.

You are four times more likely to quit for good when you get support from a trained stop smoking advisor, compared to going it alone.

E-cigarettes allow you to inhale nicotine through vapour rather than smoke. This vapour doesn't contain tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most harmful elements in tobacco smoke. Using an e-cigarette isn't completely risk-free, but it carries a small fraction of the risk of smoking and can help you quit.

E-cigarettes can also be used together with support from local stop smoking services.

Find your nearest specialist vape shop here

• Smokefree
• Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)