Drugs, alcohol and addiction
Smoking
There can be lots of pressure on you to start smoking. Smoking is highly addictive and can cause serious health problems, including cancer. Once you start it can be hard to stop. Each cigarette you smoke is estimated to shorten your life by 11 minutes.
The law changed on October 1 2015 and it is now illegal to sell cigarettes, tobacco or e-cigarettes to anyone under 18.
The following ingredients can be found in a cigarette:
- barbecue starter
- batteries
- lighter fuel
- vinegar
- methane gas
- poison
- automobile exhaust
- nail polish remover
- rocket fuel
- fuel
- paint
- toilet cleaner
- insecticide
- industrial solvent
Get help to stop smoking
The NHS website has information on stopping smoking. City of York Council Health Trainers can help you quit smoking too.
In addition, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) have a range of fact sheets on their website that you may find useful.
