Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK. Smoking increases your risk of developing more than 50 serious health conditions. Some may be fatal, and others can cause irreversible long-term damage to your health.
Debilitating Effects
Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Every year around 78,000 people in the UK die as a result of smoking, with many more living with debilitating smoking-related illnesses.
You can become ill:
- if you smoke yourself
- if people around you smoke (passive smoking)
Effects of passive smoking on babies and children
Babies and children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke. Babies are at increased risk of cot death
A child who’s exposed to passive smoke is at increased risk of developing chest infections, meningitis, a persistent cough and the ear condition, glue ear. If they have asthma, their symptoms will get worse.
Health risks of smoking during pregnancy
If you smoke when you’re pregnant, you put your unborn baby’s health at risk, as well as your own.
Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of complications such as:
- miscarriage
- premature (early) birth
- a low-birth-weight baby
- stillbirth
If you’ve tried and failed to give up, Bob’s smoking cessation sessions with continuing support will turn it around for you.
