Stopping smoking More than 400 people quit smoking every month with the help of NHS counselling in community pharmacies. As well as being in a position to advise on the most appropriate form of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), they will be able to share with you the benefit of their experience and provide you with many hints and tips to help you on your way such as: 1.Fix a date to give up and avoid periods when you have a busy social diary where you may feel under pressure to smoke. 2.Let your family and friends know that you are serious about giving up smoking and ask for their support. This way they are less likely to smoke around you or to offer you a cigarette. 3.Get rid of all of cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays or anything else that reminds you of smoking. 4.Be aware of the sort of situations and places where you will be tempted to smoke and see if you can avoid them during the difficult first few weeks. 5.Resist the occasional cigarette and any temptation to convince yourself that ‘it is only just the one’. 6.NRT may be helpful as part of your quit programme and your community pharmacist will be able to advise you on the most appropriate type of NRT. 7.Reward yourself: for every day that passes without a cigarette reward yourself in some small way and treat yourself each week out of some of the money you will be saving. Using medicines effectively Did you know? In the UK, around 17 million people have a long term condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma. These conditions cannot be cured, but they can be controlled by medication. However it is estimated that up to half of all medicines are not taken as intended by the GP or pharmacist. This means that medicines are wasted and people are not getting the maximum benefit from them.