Help to stop smoking

Tag: stop smoking

  • E-cigarettes to quit smoking

    E-cigarettes to quit smoking

    Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes or vapes) are an alternative to traditional cigarettes and a tool to help smokers quit.

    What are e-cigarettes?

    E-cigarettes are devices that heat a liquid (usually containing nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals) to produce an aerosol that is inhaled. Unlike conventional cigarettes, they do not burn tobacco and therefore do not produce tar or carbon monoxide—two of the most harmful components of cigarette smoke. The aerosol still contains substances that can affect health, although at much lower levels than cigarette smoke.

    How effective are e-cigarettes for quitting smoking?

    Evidence suggests that e-cigarettes can help some smokers quit, particularly when compared to no support or to traditional nicotine replacement therapies. Clinical trials have shown that smokers using nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are more likely to quit than those using nicotine patches or gum.

    Behavioral support—such as counseling or structured quit programs—significantly improves success rates when combined with e-cigarettes.

    Who should consider using e-cigarettes?

    E-cigarettes may be appropriate for smokers who are looking for an alternative source of nicotine with fewer toxic exposures, they are not recommended for non-smokers.

    How to use e-cigarettes effectively to quit

    First, choose a device, flavor and nicotine level that adequately replaces your cigarette and prevent cravings. If the nicotine dose is too low, you may relapse to smoking. Take our test to determine the nicotine strength you need in your e-liquid.

    Second, set a clear goal to quit smoking completely. Some people switch from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes within a few days or weeks. Others, however, may need to use both e-cigarettes and cigarettes (dual use)for a while before they can quit smoking completely, which is perfectly normal.

    Third, use the e-cigarette regularly to prevent and manage cravings, rather than waiting until urges become overwhelming.

    Fourth, combine vaping with behavioral strategies. Identify triggers, change routines, and develop coping mechanisms, just as you would with any quit attempt.

    How long should e-cigarettes be used after quitting?

    There is no “ideal” duration; some people use e-cigarettes as a temporary solution, while for others, they replace cigarettes and become a permanent habit.

    Gradual reduction in frequency or nicotine strength is not recommended if you still experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms when you reduce. Some individuals may need long-term use at a sufficient dosage, particularly those with a strong dependence on nicotine.

    The basic principle is to take a sufficient dose of nicotine for a long enough period to avoid withdrawal symptoms and prevent a relapse into smoking.

    Reference:

    Lindson N, Livingstone-Banks J, Butler AR, McRobbie H, Bullen CR, Hajek P, Wu AD, Begh R, Theodoulou A, Notley C, Rigotti NA, Turner T, Fanshawe T, Hartmann-Boyce J. Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2025, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD010216. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub10.

  • Check-list

    Check-list

    Quitting smoking is much easier when you prepare in advance. A well-planned quit attempt increases your chances of success and helps you handle cravings and challenges with confidence. Here is a practical checklist to guide you before your quit day.

    ⏹️ Start by setting a clear quit date. Choose a specific day within the next one to two weeks so you have enough time to prepare, but not so much that you lose motivation. Mark it in your calendar and treat it as an important commitment.

    ⏹️ Take time to understand your smoking habits. Notice when and why you smoke, whether it is with coffee, during stress, or out of boredom. Identifying these patterns will help you anticipate difficult moments and plan alternatives.

    ⏹️ Tell the people around you that you are quitting. Inform family, friends, and colleagues so they can support you. Their encouragement can make a significant difference, especially during the first few days.

    ⏹️ Seek help from a doctor, nurse, or psychologist who specializes in nicotine addiction, or call a helpline.

    ⏹️ Remove cigarettes and smoking-related items from your environment. Throw away cigarettes, lighters, and ashtrays from your home, car, and workplace. A clean environment reduces temptation.

    ⏹️ Plan how you will handle cravings. The best way is to take nicotine medications (patch, gum). Think ahead about what you will do when the urge to smoke appears. Simple strategies such as waiting for 5 minutes (the craving will pass), drinking water, going for a short walk, or taking deep breaths can help cravings pass. You may also want to use e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches or heated tobacco.

    ⏹️ Consider using stop-smoking aids. Nicotine replacement therapies such as patches, gum, or lozenges can reduce withdrawal symptoms. Other medications may also be helpful if recommended by a healthcare professional.

    ⏹️ Change your routines if they are strongly linked to smoking. For example, if you usually smoke with your morning coffee, consider changing your drink or location. Small adjustments can break powerful associations.

    ⏹️ Prepare for withdrawal symptoms. Irritability, restlessness, and increased appetite are common but temporary, but weight gain may be permanent. Knowing this in advance helps you stay focused and avoid discouragement.

    ⏹️ Clean your home and clothes. Removing the smell of smoke from your surroundings can make the transition feel fresh and reinforce your decision to quit.

    ⏹️ Plan rewards for yourself. Decide how you will celebrate milestones such as one day, one week, and one month without smoking. Rewards help maintain motivation.

    ⏹️ Reduce stress before your quit day. Try relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, light exercise, or meditation. Managing stress will make it easier to cope without cigarettes.

    ⏹️ Limit exposure to triggers in the first days. Avoid situations where you are strongly tempted to smoke, such as social settings with other smokers, until you feel more confident.

    ⏹️ Remind yourself why you are quitting. Write down your personal reasons, whether they are related to health, family, or finances. Keep this list visible and revisit it often.

    ⏹️ Finally, accept that quitting is a process. You may face challenges along the way, and you may need several quit attempts before you succeed, but each attempt brings you closer to success.

  • Strategies to stop smoking

    Strategies to stop smoking

    Here are some strategies used by people who have successfully quit smoking: commit to changing and sticking with it, take control, reassess the risks, seek support from those around you, manage cravings, control triggers, use non-combustible nicotine, and reflect on your own behavior.

    Risk assessment

    You should reassess the risk of smoking: seek and read information on the risks of smoking and take time to reflect about it, tell yourself that smoking will shorten your life, consider that smoking may give you lung cancer, think about the effects of smoking on your lungs and heart.

    Commitment to change

    You need to be fully committed to making a change: set a date to quit smoking and stick to it. There’s no better time than now, so pick a date to quit smoking in the next few days. Tell yourself that you’re tired of being dependent on cigarettes, that you’d be in better physical shape if you quit, and think about the benefits you’ll gain by quitting.

    Taking control

    To avoid the temptation to smoke, you should stay away from places were people smoke. You should ask other people not to smoke in my home or in your presence. You can try to spend a whole evening without smoking. After meals, you should keep yourself busy rather than smoke, and you should wait as long as you can before you light your first cigarette for the day.

    Search for and get help

    You should tell others about your effort to quit smoking, ask friends and family for support to help you quit smoking, and seek help from a doctor, nurse, or psychologist who specializes in nicotine addiction, or from a helpline.

    Managing the urge to smoke

    To deal with your craving for cigarettes, you should take non-combustible nicotine, and you can concentrate on other things and keep busy to overcome the urge to smoke.

    Obtaining nicotine from non-combustible sources

    If your brain doesn’t get enough nicotine, you’ll experience very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms (craving, depressed mood, anger, anxiety, irritability, impatience, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, increased appetite and weight gain. You should obtain a sufficient dose of nicotine from non-combustible sources for at least 3 months after quitting smoking, and if necessary for several years—whether through nicotine replacement therapy (patches, gum), e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, snus, or heated tobacco. Take our test to determine how much nicotine you need.

    For ex-smokers:

    Commitment to maintain change

    You should promise yourself never to smoke again, tell the people around you about your efforts to quit, think of ways to overcome the urge to smoke, and try again if you fail. You could treat yourself to a gift to celebrate your success, using the money you’ve saved on cigarettes.

    Self-reassessment

    You can be proud of yourself for quitting smoking and feel a sense of accomplishment. You may feel stronger than those who continue to smoke.

    Please use the ‘Comments’ field below to share your experience and to suggest improvements to this article.

  • Weight gain

    Weight gain

    After quitting smoking, most people gain weight. Here we explain why this happens, how much weight people usually gain after quitting, the possibility of using nicotine medications to delay weight gain, and how to limit weight gain

    Why people gain weight after they quit

    There are three main reasons why your body tends to put on a few pounds when you stop smoking, linked to the effects of nicotine on your appetite and metabolism. Together, these three factors influence your calorie balance (intake/expenditure) and storage in the form of body fat.

    Increased appetite and cravings:

    Nicotine acts as a mild appetite suppressant. When you remove it, you may feel hungrier more often. Increased appetite is a well-documented nicotine withdrawal symptom.

    Many people also mistake the craving for a cigarette for a craving for food. Reaching for a snack is often an unconscious way to deal with the urge to put something in your mouth (the “hand-to-mouth” habit).

    Food, especially sugary or fatty treats, releases brain chemicals that feel good, temporarily replacing the pleasure you got from nicotine.

    Slower metabolism:

    Smoking actually speeds up your metabolism (the rate your body burns calories). A smoker’s body burns about 150 to 200 more calories per day than a non-smoker’s.

    When you quit smoking, your metabolism slows down to a normal, healthy rate, meaning you burn fewer calories at rest. If you don’t adjust your eating, those unburned calories can lead to weight gain.

    Changes in how your body handles fat:

    Nicotine affects how your body processes and stores fat. Quitting can lead to a shift in your body’s fat storage that contributes to weight gain.

    How much weight can you expect to gain?

    The good news is that the weight gain is usually modest. On average, most people who quit smoking gain about 10 pounds (4-5 kg). About one in ten people may gain more than 30 pounds, but this is the exception, not the rule. Most of this weight gain occurs within the first three months after quitting, and weight usually stabilises after about a year.

    Remember, even with a 10-pound gain, your risk of heart disease and cancer is still significantly lower than if you continued to smoke.

    How to use nicotine medications to delay and limit weight gain

    Increased appetite and weight gain are nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and you can delay them as long as you take a sufficient dose of nicotine. Of course, it is preferable to use nicotine medications (patches, gum, lozenges, sprays or inhalers) which are harmless. By ‘delay’, we mean that you first stop smoking, then after 3 months of using nicotine medications, you can stop the nicotine treatment and only then will you gain weight. This two-step strategy allows you to deal with one problem at a time, first quitting smoking and managing withdrawal symptoms, then managing your weight.

    Nicotine medications also make it easier to quit smoking by attenuating the other nicotine withdrawal symptoms: craving, iritability, depressed mood, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping.

    But you have to accept the fact that, for most former smokers, weight gain is permanent. On average however, former smokers weigh the same as people who have never smoked, and current smokers weigh less than non-smokers. This means that, on average, former smokers simply return to the normal weight of non-smokers of the same age and gender. However, some former smokers gain a lot of weight and end up weighing more than is normal for their age.

    We have created an entire website (Stop-Kilos.org) dedicated to helping people lose weight, so we invite you to visit the Stop-Kilos website for more information.

    Is weight gain always a health problem?

    Weight gain can lead to health problems mostly if you are overweight (body mass index, BMI>25 kg/m2) or obese (BMI >30 kg/m2) or if your waist circumference is >80 cm or >31.8 in (women) or >94 cm or 37 in (men). See our articles on how to measure your waist circumference and your body mass index.

    Stop-Kilos

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