The facts you should know.
Fact 1: Quitting is the best thing you can do for your health.
After quitting smoking, your overall physical and mental health will improve dramatically. Within 6 hours, your heart rate will slow, and your blood pressure will stabilise. Within a week, you'll have higher levels of protective antioxidants such as vitamin C. Your risk of disease and cancer will continue to drop the longer you stay quit.
Fact 2: Quitting can improve your mood and relieve stress, anxiety and depression.
Smoking and vaping cause stress long term. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms include stress, anxiety and feelings of depression. Continuing to smoke cigarettes or vapes only feeds this cycle.
If you quit, you'll feel less physically, emotionally and financially stressed. You may even find you have a more positive outlook on life. Some tips for managing stress include going for a walk, talking with friends, or meditating.
Fact 3: Nicotine is very addictive
Research suggests that nicotine is one of the most addictive substances in the world. Almost one-third of people who smoke become addicted. This is a much higher addiction rate than for users of heroin (23%), cocaine (17%), alcohol (15%), and cannabis (9%).
Many vapes also contain nicotine, even if they say 'no-nicotine'. In some cases, they have much more than cigarettes.
Fact 4: Every smoke you don't have is doing you good.
Every cigarette or vape you don't smoke improves your health, and saves you money and time that can be better used elsewhere.
Fact 5: The sooner you quit, the better - but it is never too late!
Quitting at any age will greatly reduce your risk of disease and death. However, the earlier you stop, the greater the benefit. If you quit smoking by 30, your life expectancy will be similar to someone that has never smoked. Quitting by 50 decreases your risk of dying by half in the next 15 years.
Fact 6: Quit-smoking medicines and nicotine replacement products are safe and effective ways to quit.
People who use nicotine replacement products or quit-smoking medicines are more likely to quit successfully. Quitline can help you understand how to get the most out of these products and ensure you use them correctly. Contact Quitline on 13 78 48.
Fact 7: Many vapes have incomplete labelling, making it difficult to know what you’re inhaling.
Many vapes contain nicotine, even if they say ‘no-nicotine'. They may also have:
- other harmful and cancer-causing substances, like formaldehyde, arsenic and lead
- volatile organic compounds, like those found in paint and heavy-duty cleaning products
- hundreds of carcinogenic additives known to be fatal.
Fact 8: Vaping can permanently damage your lungs.
Vaping aerosols kills lung cells that are vital to keeping your airways healthy and working. The chemicals in vapes can permanently scar your lungs, making it difficult for you to breath.
Fact 9: The long-term health effects of vaping (smoking e-cigarettes) are unknown.
It's also unclear whether they're effective in assisting people in quitting smoking. No brand of e-cigarette has been approved under the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.
Fact 10: Vapes aren’t approved as a tool to quit smoking.
There’s no evidence that using vapes will help you quit smoking, and vapes are still damaging to your health.
Fact 11: Quitting will help protect your loved ones from the harm caused by second-hand smoke.
Having your home as a smoke-and vape-free environment reduces the cancer risk for your loved ones (including your pets). It also helps decrease the uptake of smoking and vaping among youth in your care.