Quitting smoking is one of the best decisions you’ll ever make, but as research has proven, also one of the toughest to stick to! Nicotine is highly addictive, and after inhaling cigarette smoke, there’s an almost instant hint as the drug stimulates the release of dopamine (a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure) in the brain. In this respect, nicotine can be as addictive as cocaine or heroin.
Smoking may be a tough habit to break, but if you’re one of the 70% of all smokers who would like to quit, there’s a variety of things you can do to help yourself. Unfortunately, going ‘cold turkey’ is the least likely to work, as only about 3.5% of smokers are successful at using willpower alone. You should also be prepared for the fact that you may not succeed at your first attempt, as only around 7% of people who quit do so for good.
So what works?
The NHS Quit Kit has practical advice and tools and includes text messages to help in the tough early weeks. Nicotine replacement therapy is available on prescription in the form of gum, patches, tablets, lozenges, nasal spray or inhalers and a course lasts 10-12 weeks. Drugs such as Zyban or Champix can be also prescribed by your doctor and work by reducing your cravings.
Recent research also shows that to help quit smoking, electronic cigarettes can be very effective. A survey done by University College London (UCL) found that people were around 60% more likely to succeed when they used electronic cigarettes as compared to gums, patches or the cold turkey approach. The five year study, published in Addiction, looked at 5,863 smokers between 2009 and 2014 who had tried to stop smoking without using drugs or professional support.
The research, mainly funded by Cancer Research UK, shows that electronic cigarettes can be a powerful aid in helping people stop. The senior author of the study, Professor Robert West of UCL’s Epidemiology and Public Health Department, said that electronic cigarettes could ‘substantially improve’ public health because of their widespread appeal. Meanwhile, the latest statistics from Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), show that between April and December last year, 394,354 people set a quit date through the NHS Stop Smoking Services. After four weeks, 203,883 were still not smoking, 71% of whom had this confirmed by carbon monoxide tests. So if you’re discouraged by your attempts so far to quit smoking, don’t worry! There are proven methods that can help you with your goal.
For information on the harmful effects of smoking, click here. For more information see: