Ex-smoker from Essex says she's in the "best health ever" aged 44
"Quit for a week, save a day" says health experts
Last updated 31st Dec 2024
Smokers who choose to quit on the 1 January could save a whole day of their life by 8 January, according to new research from University College London (UCL).
Surrounded by family and friends that smoked, ex-smoker Jay Begum started smoking when she was 15.
With support from her local stop smoking service, Jay quit smoking 10 years ago.
Living in Loughton, Jay tells Greatest Hits Radio "smoking was at the time very normalised in my life."
"Pretty soon after starting I became very hooked and continued for 20 years.
Research commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care shows smoking is more harmful than previously thought.
Every cigarette steals approximately 20 minutes of life from smokers on average.
This equates to nearly seven hours of life lost when smoking an average pack of 20 cigarettes.
If a smoker quits on New Year’s Day, by 20 February, smokers could get a week of their life back and by the end of the year, they could have avoided losing 50 days of life.
Jay quit "largely because of the impact she could see it was having on her health".
"I was always quite active but was getting out of breath very easily.
"I had two nephews who I was worried would pick up smoking as a result of seeing me and my siblings smoke.
Any smoker considering quitting for 2025 can find advice, support and resources with the NHS Quit Smoking app, which has recently been updated with new information about beating cravings.
Additionally, the online Personal Quit Plan tailors its advice to each smoker’s preferences.
Jay says she "wouldn't have been able to quit" without the help of her local NHS Stop Smoking Service.
"I don't think many people are aware of it.
"I would meet every week with an advisor face-to-face who would check the amount of nicotine in my system. It made me accountable."
The service also provides nicotine-replacement therapies.
The research follows the introduction of the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which recently passed Second Reading in the House of Commons.
The world-leading Bill includes measures to create the first smoke-free generation, phasing out the sale of tobacco products across the UK to anyone born after 1 January 2009.
The Bill delivers on one of the three key shifts in the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, to move from sickness to prevention.
Achieving this will help reach a key measurable milestone set out by the Prime Minister in his Plan for Change to cut waiting lists and protect the NHS.
Separately, new research conducted by Censuswide shows more than half (53%) of smokers are planning on quitting smoking as a new year’s resolution in 2025.
Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death, disability and ill health in the UK.
It causes around 80,000 deaths a year in the UK and 1-in-4 of all cancer deaths in England and kills up to two-thirds of its long-term users.
Just 72 hours after quitting, your breathing will feel easier, and your energy will increase. After 12 weeks, your blood circulation will improve and by the time one-year rolls around, your risk of heart attack will have halved compared to a smoker.
Using stop smoking services is three times as effective as an unassisted quit attempt.
To support current smokers to quit, the government recently confirmed an additional £70 million for stop smoking services in England, for 2025/26, with local authorities having received confirmation of their funding amount.
This is in addition to the NHS recently announcing the roll-out of a pill, Varenicline, that could help tens of thousands of people give up cigarettes.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill contains powers to extend the indoor smoking ban to certain outdoor settings to reduce the harms of second-hand smoking, particularly around children and the vulnerable.
Children’s playgrounds and outside schools and hospitals are being considered in England and will be subject to consultation.
Disposable vapes are also due to be banned from 1 June 2025 under separate environmental legislation.
In October, the Health and Social Care Secretary launched change.nhs.uk to encourage the biggest conversation ever about the NHS to help inform the 10 Year Health Plan for England.