In addition to living a longer, healthier life, a recent study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), shows that those who succeeded in quitting experienced reduced depression, anxiety and stress—and also adopted a more positive outlook on life.
Experts agree that tobacco is the single biggest avoidable cause of cancer in the world, ‘stealing’ decades of people’s lives. According to the Worldwide Health Organization, tobacco-related illnesses caused over five million deaths worldwide in 2015, which equates to one death every six seconds. The earlier you give up, the better—but it is never too late to gain valuable years by giving up smoking. Here is our advice to get you started.
SEE ALSO: The Problem of Addiction
Cutting down
If you struggle to quit completely, cutting down the number of cigarettes can be a good first step. In fact, the number of years you smoke affect your risk of cancer more than the actual number of cigarettes you smoke every day. For example, it is more harmful to your health to smoke one pack a day for 40 years, than smoking two packs a day for 20 years, according to Cancer Research UK. However, the end-goal should always be to give it up completely.
Seek alternatives
Over recent years, e-cigarettes have become very popular in the UK as a quit smoking aid. E-cigarettes do not produce tar and carbon monoxide—two of the main toxins in conventional cigarette smoke. They do however contain nicotine, but this can be gradually reduced over time. In 2014/15, two out of three people who used e-cigarettes in combination with the NHS Stop Smoking service managed to quit smoking successfully.
Keep busy
If you find a certain time of day hard to resist temptation, try a new routine. Research from the NHS has shown that exercise—even a five-minute walk—will cause your brain to produce anti-craving chemicals, thus making cigarettes less appealing. Practising yoga and pilates can also help you stay focused and in tune with your body.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)
NRT works by releasing nicotine steadily into your bloodstream at much lower levels than in a cigarette, without carbon monoxide and other poisonous chemicals that are present in tobacco smoke. This helps control your cravings for a cigarette when your body starts to miss the nicotine, and increases the chance of quitting smoking by about 50-70 percent.
NRT comes in different forms, including:
- skin patches
- chewing gum
- inhalators
- tablets, strips and lozenges
- nasal spray
- mouth spray
You can also talk to your GP, pharmacy team or practice nurse about stop smoking medication that can help with nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
