Why is it so hard to stop smoking?

Tobacco in cigarettes includes a highly addictive drug - nicotine - plus it's hard to stop when it feels like everyone else is smoking.  The figures are high - did you know that one in four 15 year olds is a regular smoker and that 450 young people start smoking every day?

So why should you stop?

• It's bad for you ' there are more than 4000 chemicals in tobacco most of which are bad for your health and your skin.  Even a short term habit causes wrinkles, makes your clothes and hair smell and stains your teeth. Long term habits lead to serious health problems such as cancer, chronic breathing problems and heart disease.
• It's bad for your love life - research shows that smokers are twice as likely as non-smokers to have serious problems with their love life
• It's bad for your wallet - if you stop a 10 a day habit you'll save yourself more than '800 a year. What else could you buy instead?

If you'd like to kick the habit there's lots of help out there - you could start by calling the QUIT helpline on 0800 00 22 00 or email for free individual same day advice to Quit or check out Quit's website