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Making the decision to stop smoking may not be easy, but doing so with the help of NICE can increase life expectancy and prevent ill health.

Smoking is the leading cause of premature death in England, causing around 80 per cent of deaths from lung cancer, and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack among those under 40 by five times. Each year, approximately £2.78 billion is spent on the NHS in treating smoking-related illnesses.

Yet any health risk attributed to smoking falls dramatically once the habit is stopped. If smokers quit before the age of 30, they can avoid almost all of the risk of lung cancer caused by the habit. The likelihood of a heart attack also drops to about half that of a smoker just one year of stopping.

To mark national No Smoking Day, NICE is highlighting it's smoking cessation guidance and how it can help smokers who are thinking of quitting. Last year, NICE published landmark guidance on reducing the harm associated with tobacco smoking.

The guidance says that the best way to reduce harm from smoking is to stop completely, and the best chance of succeeding in doing this is to quit in one step. However, many smokers can find this difficult to achieve, especially those who are highly dependent on nicotine.

Consequently, the guidance recommends that smokers should be reassured that licensed nicotine products, often in combination, can both help people reduce the amount they smoke and increase their chances of giving up smoking altogether.

Since they are often not used correctly, NICE advises that health professionals and advisors should explain how to use them properly to control cravings. People should also be reassured that it is better to use nicotine products and reduce the amount they smoke than continue at their current level.

NICE has also developed a quality standard on smoking cessation that contains five measurable statements to help support people to stop smoking.

Among these statements are that all people who smoke should be offered a referral to an evidence-based smoking cessation service.

However, despite their effectiveness, many people do not use them when they try to stop. Consequently, NICE says that it is important that practitioners are aware of these services and make use of the opportunities available to refer people who smoke to such services.

NICE has also published guidance calling for the NHS to become smoke-free as part of a cultural shift in the way that it tackles smoking.

The guidance recommends that as soon as patients are admitted to an acute, maternity or mental health setting they should be offered smoking cessation drugs, nicotine patches and counselling to encourage them to quit.

In addition, NHS staff, visitors, and family members should be encouraged to stop smoking in an effort to make secondary care an examplar for promoting healthy behaviour.

Professor Mike Kelly, Director of Public Health at NICE, said: "Stopping smoking may not be easy, but getting help to stop smoking is. For some people, deciding to stop can be more difficult than actually quitting, so it's important for smokers to know there is effective help available.

"From the use of licensed nicotine products, to using stop smoking services and creating a smokefree NHS, NICE guidance covers a range of measures and support tools that can help people on their journey towards quitting for good."

Access all that NICE has to say on quitting tobacco by visiting the NICE pathway on smoking.

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