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Smoking

Smoking is now banned in all hospital sites across Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board. Staff are unable to smoke on hospital grounds. Help make your UHB a healthy place to be.

The organisation has developed a No Smoking and smoke free environment policy to promote health and wellbeing, and ensure the organisation is a healthy site for all patients, visitors and staff.

What happens when you stop smoking

  • After 8 hours: the level of carbon monoxide and nicotine in the blood will halve
  • After 24 hours: carbon monoxide is eliminated from the body, the lungs start to clear and the chance of heart attack starts to decrease
  • After 48 hours: there is no nicotine left in the body, taste and smell start to improve, nerve endings start to re-grow and walking becomes easier.
  • After 72 hours: breathing becomes easier and energy levels increase
  • After 2-12 weeks: circulation improves, lung function increases and running becomes easier
  • After 3-9 months: decrease in coughing, sinus congestion, tiredness, shortness of breath and less chance of chest infection.  Lung function is increased by up to 10%
  • After 1 year: the risk of heart attack falls to half of that of a smoker
  • After 10 years: the risk of lung cancer halved – the longer you stop the lower the risk
  • After 15 years: the risk of a heart attack falls to the same as someone who has never smoked

Resources to help you stop smoking

  • Public Health Wales 
  • Help Me Quit allows you to calculate how much you could save by quitting, provides tips and support and can give you lots of advice and resources to help you quit.
  • Smokers Helpline Wales provides free and confidential advice to young people and adults looking to quit smoking.  To speak to a member of the team for general advice, to receive an information pack and details on additional support services, call them on 080 0169 0169.  
  • Change for Life quit smoking provides daily support to help you remain smoke free, have tools to show you how much money you are saving and tried and tested ways to help you stop smoking for good.
  • NHS Live Well provides health benefits of quitting smoking which include better skin, whiter teeth, reduced stress levels and an increase in energy.
  • NHS inform provide information on the risks of smoking and the benefits of quitting within days, weeks, months and years as well as help and support available to help you quit.
  • Reasons to Quit

Cardiff Met report on smoking habits in young people

Cardiff Metropolitan University was commissioned by Cardiff and Vale Public Health Team and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board to manage a research study which looked at smoking and vaping behaviour among young people. Read the full report here.