“Don't smoke” top health advice people would give their younger self

"Don't smoke" is the top health advice that one in five (19%) people aged over 25 said they would give their younger selves if they could go back in time, according to new findings by PruHealth, the insurer that rewards people for engaging in healthy behaviour.

PruHealth found that the top five health tips that people would are:

1.Don't smoke (19%)
2.Look after your body (15%)
3.Do more exercise (14%)
4.Think about the consequences of your actions (11%)
5.Eating more healthily (10%)

Only 10 per cent would advise a ‘live for the moment' approach and tell their younger selves to enjoy the present and not worry about the future.

Almost a third (31%) of people think that smoking is one of the biggest health risks facing the nation, and one in 10 (9%) people have tried to quit in the past 12 months, or intend to try in the next 12 months (10%).

Dr Katherine Tryon at PruHealth, said: "It is hard to give up smoking.  Certainly initiatives such as blank packaging help not only in reducing the numbers of people starting smoking but also removing the triggers to continuing.  However, people need to fully understand the impact that smoking has on their life, and most need help quitting.

"At PruHealth we focus on helping people to understand the impact their lifestyle has on their health, and helping them to improve this through removing barriers to healthy living and incentivising healthy activities via our Vitality scheme."