Smoking Cessation
Deaths relating to smoking are amongst the highest recorded worldwide, with literally millions of people dying from their habit each year. One in four people in the UK are currently smokers, approximately 70% of all smokers want to kick the habit, but they struggle to do so because of the highly addictive nature of nicotine. So addictive is the active ingredient in cigarettes that many studies on the substance put nicotine on par with cocaine or heroin in terms of how addictive it is and just how hard it can be to quit smoking.
If you are a smoker and you’re looking for an effective means of giving up, then help is available, with a range of treatments on the market to help you to ease the cravings and remove your desire to smoke. Let’s discuss each of these treatment options and how effective they are.
How bad for your health is smoking?
Smoking ranks amongst the top takers of life within the UK and is directly responsible for more than five times the number of deaths from accidents, poisoning, liver disease, murder, manslaughter, suicide, alcoholism and HIV combined. On top of this, smoking can be linked to a further 30% of all deaths caused by cancer, including 84% of the total caused by lung cancer, 80% of bronchitis and emphysema deaths as well as 17% of deaths attributed to heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions. Smoking is extremely bad for you, both from direct smoking as well as passive or second hand smoke. There are also a number of other conditions which smoking can contribute to. Some of these are listed below;
- Diabetes – Smoking is one of the serious risk factors for diabetes and can be directly linked to insulin resistance, which can often cause the condition.
- Infertility and impotence – Smoking can cause or worsen both impotence and infertility in both men and women.
- High blood pressure – Smoking is a serious attributing factor to the development and increased risk of developing high blood pressure, which in turn can lead to angina and other cardiovascular problems such as loss of vision as well as kidney damage.
- Angina – Smokers are up to twenty times more at risk of developing this life threatening condition in comparison to non-smokers.
- Optic neuropathy, amblyopia and macular degeneration – Smokers have an increased risk of developing these conditions by as much as 16 times. These conditions can result in blindness and other vision related problems.
- Depression – Dependant smokers are often victims to this side effect of their habit, which can lead to a number of other health problems and psychological issues.
What is second hand or passive smoking?
Second hand smoking is when the people around you suffer the effects of your habit. It is precisely this type of smoke inhalation which has prompted many governments to impose anti-smoking measures, such as the ban on smoking in public places which was introduced throughout the UK in 2007. Passive smoking, as it’s also known, has been directly linked to causing an increase in the risk of many smoke related ailments such as diabetes, heart disease, impotence and sudden infant death syndrome, commonly known as cot death. This means that as a smoker you are not only damaging your own health, but could also be damaging the health of those around you, increasing the risk of developing one of these conditions within your family, friends and colleagues. Further to this form of smoke inhalation, there have been a number of recent studies to look into the effects of what has been dubbed “third hand smoke”, which refers to the residues that smoking leaves on clothing and surfaces which is thought by many to have the same detrimental effects as passive smoking.
What benefits are there of giving up?
The benefits of quitting to a smokers health are immense and it’s never too late to do it, no matter how long you’ve been smoking for. These benefits can include a significant reduction in the level of risk you carry as a smoker of developing many of the smoking related conditions we have discussed on this page, such as heart disease, lung cancer and other life shortening conditions and illnesses. Below you’ll find a chart which shows the benefits of giving up, as well as just how long they will take to reach from the time of your last cigarette;
Time since quitting |
Positive changes that happen |
20 minutes |
Pulse rate and blood pressure return to normal. |
8 hours |
Carbon monoxide levels in blood reduce by half and oxygen return to normal levels. |
24 hours |
Carbon monoxide will no longer be present in the body and your lungs will start to clear themselves of mucus and other debris. |
48 hours |
Your ability to taste and smell will be greatly improved. |
72 hours |
Breathing becomes much easier and the bronchial tubes will begin to relax, helping to increase energy levels. |
2 - 12 weeks |
Circulation will improve. |
3 - 9 months |
Wheezing, Coughs and other breathing problems improve with lung function increasing by up to 10%. |
1 year |
Risk of a heart attack falls significantly, to approximately half that of a smoker. |
10 years |
Risk of lung cancer falls to approximately half that of a smoker. |
15 years |
Risk of heart attack falls to the same as a non-smoker. |
As well as the obvious health benefits of kicking the habit, there are also considerable financial gains to be made by giving up. On average, smokers in the UK will have between 10 and 15 cigarettes each and every day. This equates to a spend of somewhere around £120 a month or £1,500 a year. Take this figure over your lifetime as a smoker and this would be somewhere in the region of £100,000, which is a considerable amount of money by anyone’s standards.
What treatments are available to help give up smoking?
At the present time there are three treatment solutions for smokers who are trying to give up the habit of a lifetime. These are Nicotine Replacement Therapy, which is available in a number of different forms such as patches, gums and even inhalators, as well as prescription treatments Zyban and Chantix. Below you will find a brief summary of each of these methods, how they work and how effective they are at helping people give up smoking.
NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy)
Nicotine Replacement Therapy is available in a variety of different brand names and is the oldest approved medical method for giving up your addiction. It works by replacing the nicotine you would usually take into your body from smoking, but without any of the tar or poisons which make smoking so bad for you. The success rate of this method is quite low, with as little as 1 in 5 smokers managing to give up using a form of NRT treatment.
Zyban (bupropion)
Zyban, a treatment originally developed as an anti-depressant, was first seen to have benefits for smokers during the clinical trial stage of the drug. Participants in the trial who smoked found that they were starting to smoke less frequently and in many cases, stopped smoking all together. The action which achieves this is at present is not fully understood, however it is believed that it increases the levels of certain chemicals within the brain which help to regulate cravings. The success rate of this treatment is around 29% and it’s taken for a period of 12 weeks.
Chantix (varenicline)
Chantix is the newest medicated aid in the fight against nicotine addiction and has shown a much higher success rate than either of the alternative treatment options. It works to block the action of nicotine, whilst stimulating nicotine receptors within the brain to reduce both the effect of nicotine on the body as well as any cravings which a smoker suffers when trying to give up. This treatment has a success rate of 44%, which is significantly higher than any other treatment available on the market at present. The entire course lasts for the duration of 12 weeks, with many smokers giving up long before they reach the end of their treatment.
