A Working Checklist for Stopping Smoking
Stopping Smoking: what is worth doing, what is worth avoiding, and when to stop and see a doctor.
The combination of medication and behavioural support that makes quitting succeed. It is the single largest modifiable risk factor for most major diseases, and willpower alone has the worst success rate of any method.
Key takeaways
- Most effective approach: stop smoking medicine plus behavioural support
- Effect of local NHS services: roughly triples the chance of success
- Most useful single change: Use a local NHS stop smoking service; it is free.
- Commonest mistake: Relying on willpower alone.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.
Do
- Use a local NHS stop smoking service; it is free
- Combine a patch with a fast-acting nicotine product
- Set a quit date and tell people about it
- Treat a lapse as information rather than failure
Do not
- Relying on willpower alone
- Underdosing or stopping nicotine replacement early
- Taking up vaping if you do not smoke
The numbers behind the list
The reasoning behind both lists, in numbers.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Most effective approach | stop smoking medicine plus behavioural support |
| Effect of local NHS services | roughly triples the chance of success |
| Recommended NRT approach | a patch plus a fast-acting form |
| Coronary risk after about 1 year | roughly halved |
| Smokefree helpline (England) | 0300 123 1044 |
If you change one thing
Use a local NHS stop smoking service; it is free. That one first, and the others when you get to them.
Where to go next
- Stopping Smoking: Just the Figures
- The Evidence on Stopping Smoking, Without the Hype
- Stopping Smoking — the reference entry
- Alcohol Reduction: What the Evidence Actually Says
- The Evidence on Using the NHS, Without the Hype
When to speak to a doctor
Speak to a GP or pharmacist about stop smoking medicines, particularly if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have a mental health condition, or take medicines affected by smoking such as clozapine or theophylline. See a GP for a cough lasting more than three weeks or coughing up blood.
Where this comes from
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.
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