Common Questions

Research shows that the best way for you to stop smoking is with a group of other smokers allowing you to gain extra support and motivation on your smoke-free journey.

We understand that attending a group can be scary for some. However the idea of group support is that you can learn from other people who are trying to stop smoking. You will find out how other people deal with cravings or trigger situations, as well as helpful tips on getting the best from your licensed stop smoking medication.

You can talk as little or as much as you like and you will not have to stand up in front of the group. There is also an opportunity before and after the appointment to speak to your stop smoking expert confidentially.

Most definitely. A number of the Help Me Quit services are able to access a telephone-based translation service that can translate over 150 languages. To find the services local to you please contact the Help Me Quit team for more information.

Many of the services are available in Welsh. To find the services local to you please contact the bilingual Help Me Quit team for more information.

When you use a Help Me Quit service your stop smoking expert will go through the different licensed stop smoking medications that are available. They will help you choose which medication may be best for you depending on your level of addiction, health, lifestyle and the way the medications work.

Smoking makes it harder for your baby to get the oxygen and nourishment it needs. It can also place additional stress on your baby’s heart and affects the development of its lungs. If you are pregnant and smoke you have a greater risk of miscarriage, may have a difficult birth and risk having a low birth weight baby.

Breastfeeding will give your baby a good start in life. If you quit smoking, you will no longer be passing on nicotine and other poisons from cigarette smoke to your baby through your breast milk. You will also cut down your baby’s exposure to tobacco smoke, which will help protect your child’s health. After the birth of your baby, smoking by either parent increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (cot death).

E-cigarettes are not available on prescription as they are currently not licensed as a stop smoking medication. However, many smokers are using them to help them stop smoking.

This will depend upon the service you decide to access. The Help Me Quit team will be able to answer this question when you choose a service.

The use of e-cigarettes by pregnant women is not recommended. If you would like to quit smoking, there are NHS stop smoking services available locally, which offer expert help and access to licensed stop smoking medications.

Usually, e-cigarettes contain nicotine. The use of nicotine by children and young people is unsafe as it can cause addiction and harm the developing adolescent brain. There are no benefits to children and young people in using e-cigarettes. While the health risks of e-cigarettes are significantly lower than smoking cigarettes, they are not without risk. If a young person is smoking and would like help to quit, Help Me Quit services provide expert help and access to licensed stop smoking medications.

If you are a smoker who is unable or doesn’t want to stop smoking now, then consider switching completely from smoking tobacco to only using an e-cigarette. Switching to an e-cigarette will significantly reduce the risks to your health compared to continuing smoking. This advice does not apply to pregnant women, who should consider using licensed nicotine replacement products.