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.

Your local pharmacy team can help you to maintain a healthy weight by providing you with:

• Information on the risks of being overweight and obese
• Tips and advice on diet and exercise
• Information on fitness classes in your area
• Healthy eating and nutritional advice
• Advice on portion control, exercise and food labelling
• Information on products to help aid slimming

Some pharmacies also provide a personalised weight loss support service to help motivate you to lose weight at a healthy pace.

It can be difficult knowing how much is too much when it comes to alcohol. Your pharmacist can help you to make more sense of your alcohol consumption by giving information on:

• The recommended daily units
• Tips and advice on how to cut down your alcohol intake
• How alcohol affects your body and health  
•  Information on local support groups
  

Chlamydia screening and treatment

The signs and symptoms of Chlamydia are invisible, but just a simple urine test, carried out in the privacy of your own home can tell you if you may be carrying the infection. Many pharmacies now supply the test kits and results come back from the lab in a matter of days. Many pharmacies will supply an antibiotic treatment, if there is a positive test result.

Your local pharmacist can give you advice on maintaining good sexual health such as:

• Information on the types of contraception
• Signposting to other services e.g. testicular examination, erectile dysfunction, prevention of STIs.

Allergy Screening 

One in three of the population experiences an allergic reaction in the UK at some time in their life. Some pharmacies offer an allergy screening service which involves the pharmacist taking a full allergy history and then discussing how best to reduce the symptoms of a person’s allergy. If required, a ‘pin prick’ allergy test can be performed which involves taking a drop of blood from the patient to confirm what may be causing the allergy.

Blood pressure testing

Many pharmacists can now check your blood pressure and offer lifestyle advice about how you can stay healthy.

Cholesterol testing 

A simple ‘finger prick’ test that can reveal your cholesterol level is offered in some pharmacies. Advice on how to reduce your cholesterol level is on hand too.

Blood glucose testing 

Having too much glucose in your blood may indicate you are at risk of diabetes. Pharmacists can offer a simple finger prick test that will let you know if your blood glucose level is too high, and what to do to keep it low or reduce it. 

NHS Health Checks

Some pharmacies in England provide the free NHS Health Check service for people between the ages of 40-75. The NHS Health Check will assess your risk of developing heart problems. See NHS Choices for more information.

Some pharmacies may offer you a free flu vaccine if you are in one of the at risks groups. If you are not in the at risk groups but would still like to have a vaccine, you may also be able to pay for the vaccine from some pharmacies.