We are committed to providing accessible, evidenced-based services that treat tobacco dependence, effectively helping smokers to stop and reduce smoking health harms.
In partnership with the London borough of Hillingdon, we provide a flexible service offering you advice and support from our expert team of advisors.
We offer a combination of therapies to meet your needs, giving you the best opportunity to quit smoking successfully. The service is free for anyone who lives, works or has a GP in the borough of Hillingdon, aged 12 years and above.
We’re here to help you. Everyone is different, so the help they need will be different too and you can call us for a chat to see if we have the right programmes for you.
We offer a free service to anyone who lives, works or has a GP in the borough of Hillingdon, aged 12 years and above.
We specialise in the following groups:
- Children and young people under 18 years. We offer training, advice and interventions for young people (12 years and above) on smoking or vaping
- Pregnancy and after child birth, including partners. We work alongside Hillingdon Maternity services to support women/birthing people to stop smoking during pregnancy.
- Those with mental health issues including substance misuse. We offer specialist support for people who may be experiencing mental health and/or drug and alcohol related problems.
- People with disabilities and long-term conditions. We work in partnership with GPs and Hillingdon Hospital to give you the best opportunity and all the support together you need to quit.
We offer:
- Free access to an experienced NHS Stop Smoking Advisor at a location and time to suit you
- Rapid response within two working days of first contact
- Remote or face-to-face appointment offer within five days
- Personalised ‘Quitters Welcome Pack’
- Expert evidence-based motivational behavioural change interventions (individual and/or group)
- Free evidence-based stop smoking aids such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and smoking cessation medications
- Rapid onward referral where indicated
- Access to 13 specially trained pharmacies in the Stop Smoking Scheme, geographically spread across the borough of Hillingdon
- Clinics held in GP surgeries, Hillingdon Hospital, Uxbridge Library, and other convenient venues.
Stopping smoking isn’t easy, but greatly improves your health and finances. Smoking causes extensive damage to your body and your second-hand smoke can also cause problems for everybody else too.
Smoking is very expensive and you might be surprised how much you can save once you quit. On average, most people spend around £150 per month. That’s nearly £2,000 a year going up in smoke.
Just imagine what else you could spend that money on?
Mental health
Quitting smoking can also boost your mental health and wellbeing: it can improve mood and help relieve stress, anxiety and depression.
People with mental health problems are likely to feel much calmer and more positive, and have a better quality of life, after giving up smoking.
Evidence suggests the beneficial effect of stopping smoking on symptoms of anxiety and depression can equal that of taking antidepressants.
Smoking and heart disease
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is usually caused by a build-up of fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries around the heart (coronary arteries).
The fatty deposits, called atheroma, are made up of cholesterol and other waste substances.
The build-up of atheroma on the walls of the coronary arteries makes the arteries narrower and restricts the flow of blood to the heart. This process is called atherosclerosis. Your risk of developing atherosclerosis is significantly increased if you smoke.
Smoking and COPD
Smoking is the main cause of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is the name for a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airways disease.
At least 4 out of 5 people who develop the disease are, or have been, smokers. The lining of the airways becomes inflamed and permanently damaged by smoking. This damage cannot be reversed. Around 10-25% of smokers develop COPD.
Smoking and diabetes
If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, you will need to pay special attention to certain aspects of your lifestyle and health.
Diabetes doesn’t have to stop you from leading the life you want. Nor does it mean you’ll necessarily have other serious health problems in the future. If you do smoke, find support to help you stop. Smoking increases your risk of heart disease and stroke even further.
Smoking and shisha
The smoke you inhale from the shisha pipe contains high levels of toxic chemicals that cause cancer. Breathing in the second-hand smoke is also harmful, particularly to children and pregnant women.
Smoking shisha can cause irreversible lung damage and fatal lung diseases like lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It may also lead to losing teeth from gum disease.
Smoking and your pets
Many studies show that second-hand smoking and tobacco exposure increases health risks to your pets.
Smoking while pregnant is harmful to both you and your baby. There is no safe level of smoking during pregnancy. By completely quitting smoking, you can greatly reduce the chances of serious health complications for both you and your baby.
Smoking during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of your baby developing severe health problems, such as being born with face defects, developing asthma, chest and ear infections or behaviour problems such as ADHD.
Smoking in pregnancy can cause low birth weight: a baby that is small due to smoking is not a healthy baby. Smoking can also increase the risk of stillbirth and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Can second-hand smoke harm me and my baby?
If someone in your household smokes in the home, this can have serious consequences for you and your baby, both before and after birth.
Inhaling second-hand smoke has been linked to lower birth weight and an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Babies with smoking parents are more prone to hospitalisation due to bronchitis and pneumonia in their first year.
Benefits of quitting smoking while pregnant
Quitting smoking will have immediate positive effects on both you and your baby. Eliminating toxins, such as carbon monoxide, from your system will be beneficial to your health.
When you quit smoking, your baby’s heart will function more efficiently. Harmful chemicals in cigarettes restrict the oxygen supply to your baby, and quitting smoking alleviates this issue.
Quitting smoking completely before you get pregnant or early in your pregnancy is ideal for you and your baby. But even if you stop smoking during the later stages of pregnancy, it will still be beneficial to some extent.
Our goal is to equip you with the tools and resources you need to successfully kick the habit for good. It’s worth noting that 8 out of 10 pregnant individuals accessing our service successfully quit smoking.
Vaping during pregnancy
If you’re pregnant, licensed NRT products such as nicotine patches and gum are the recommended option to help you stop smoking. But if you find using a vape helpful to stay off cigarettes, it’s likely to be safer for you and your baby than continuing to smoke.
Vaping is considered 95% safer than smoking cigarettes and does not produce harmful chemicals like tar or carbon monoxide, which are especially harmful to developing babies. But we don’t yet know if the vapour from e-cigarettes may cause harm to the unborn baby.
Key points
- Smoking in pregnancy is harmful to you and your baby.
- Passive smoking can also harm you and your baby.
- If you smoke, the best thing you can do is stop. Stopping at any time in pregnancy will help, though the sooner the better.
- You should stop completely (rather than just cut down), ideally before getting pregnant.
We’re here to help you. We understand that different types of support work for different people, and you can call us for a chat to see if we have the right programmes for you. We can also offer help for partners and family members who want to stop smoking.
Many people increase their chance of quitting by accessing services for treatment.
Stop by myself
If you are stopping smoking by yourself you will want to make sure you are giving yourself the best possible chance of success.
You can call us for a chat and we can send you information to help you with stopping smoking.
Video or telephone chat
Specialist advisors are available to provide you with free expert advice and guidance on stopping smoking.
They can advise on what stop smoking medicine is best for you, set up a plan of action and help you address any problems you are facing.
Calls can be arranged between 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
Face to face support
Maybe you’ve tried to stop smoking before and it didn’t work, or there are other challenges that are making it difficult for you to stop.
You can speak to our advisors and receive expert, personalised support. Your advisor will talk you through various options available to help you stop smoking and agree a schedule of support.
We can use a mix of face-to-face and telephone or video appointments.
Alternatively, you can drop-in and visit us in person. Please make sure to call first so we can make sure an advisor is available.
What people say about the service
