Smoking triggers and our tobacco control measures

Understand your smoking triggers and how we aim to make smoking less desirable.

As well as helping smokers who want to quit, we also aim to tackle the death, disability and disease caused by smoking and to make smoking less desirable, less accessible and less affordable.

What may trigger me to smoke? 

• Emotional – stress, anxiety, boredom, loneliness.  
• Drinking alcohol or coffee, watching TV or talking on the telephone. 
• Socialising 
• Smelling cigarette smoke, feeling restless, handling cigarettes or a lighter. 

How to manage my triggers? 

• Behavioural change or stop smoking medication can stop cravings. 
• If stress has triggered you, try talking about how to feel or practice deep breathing exercises. 
• Ask people not to smoke around you when socialising. 
• Concentrate on a different activitiy at a time when you would normally smoke e.g. exercise. 
• Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) can reduce the craving for nicotine. 

Tobacco control – what are we doing? 

As well as helping smokers who want to quit, we aim to tackle the death, disability and disease caused by smoking. 

This means: 

• preventing the uptake of smoking. 
• Helping those who want to quit. 
• Protecting people from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke. 

 

Public Health works with many departments and agencies to plan and deliver a broad range of activities. More information and support can be found on the Stop smoking support website.    

The council also supports the work of Fresh, a programme set up in the North East to tackle the worst rates of smoking-related illness and death in England.