Stopping Smoking

You might have tried to quit before, or you might be thinking about it for the first time. Smoking is often tied up with stress, breaks at work, friends and routine, so stopping can feel like losing a companion. Most people who quit for good needed more than one attempt, and each try teaches you something.

What is happening

Cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. Nicotine reaches the brain within seconds and gives a short feeling of calm or focus. When it wears off, you feel restless, irritable and anxious, and the next cigarette relieves that. This is why smoking feels like it helps stress, when in fact it keeps creating the stress it relieves.

Smoking damages almost every part of the body. It raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, lung disease, TB complications, many cancers, erectile problems and problems in pregnancy. Hubbly bubbly, rolled tobacco and loose cigarettes carry similar harms. Vapes usually still contain nicotine, and their long-term effects are not fully known.

The good news: benefits start soon after stopping. Within days your breathing and sense of taste often improve, and over months and years your risk of heart disease and cancer drops. After the first few weeks, many people report feeling less anxious than when they smoked.

Signs to notice

• You smoke within 30 minutes of waking
• You feel irritable or anxious when you cannot smoke
• You smoke more when stressed, bored or drinking
• You have a cough, get short of breath or catch chest infections easily
• You spend a lot on cigarettes each month
• You have tried to stop and started again

30-second self-check

Answer yes or no.

• Do you smoke or vape within 30 minutes of waking?
• Do you smoke ten or more cigarettes a day?
• Have you tried to quit and gone back within a month?
• Do you smoke mostly to handle stress?
• Do people close to you smoke around you?
• Do you have a cough, chest infections or breathlessness?
• Are you pregnant, or do you have heart, lung or blood pressure problems?

0-1 yes: You may find it easier to stop. Set a date and use a simple plan.
2-3 yes: You are likely quite dependent on nicotine. Support and nicotine replacement can double your chances.
4 or more yes: It could really help to plan your quit with a nurse, doctor or pharmacist. Someone qualified can help with this.

What you can do next

• Today: Work out how much you spend on smoking in a month. Decide what you will do with that money instead.
• This week: Choose a quit date within the next two weeks. Tell family, friends and colleagues, and ask them not to offer you cigarettes.
• This month: Ask a pharmacist or clinic about nicotine patches, gum or lozenges, or a doctor about prescription options. Using them properly makes quitting much easier.
• Know your triggers: tea breaks, after meals, driving, alcohol, stress. Plan a replacement for each, such as a walk, chewing gum, drinking water or slow breathing.
• Cravings usually peak and pass within a few minutes. Delay, breathe, drink water, do something else.
• If you slip, do not give up. Learn from it and carry on.

Your tool

Quit Smoking Planner - set your quit date, list your triggers and replacements, and see the money you save each week.

When to get professional help

Talk to a doctor or nurse if you have tried to quit several times, if you are pregnant, or if you have a heart, lung or mental health condition, as the right support can make quitting safer and more successful. See a doctor soon for a cough lasting more than two weeks, coughing blood, unexplained weight loss or night sweats (TB needs checking). Call 10177 or 112 for chest pain, sudden shortness of breath, or signs of a stroke such as face drooping, arm weakness or slurred speech.

Who can help: doctor, nurse, psychologist, counsellor, addiction service

Getting help in South Africa

Public clinics can support quitting, check your lungs and blood pressure, and screen for TB. Pharmacists can advise on nicotine replacement products. Some medical aids cover quit-smoking programmes; check your benefits. The Substance Abuse Helpline, 0800 12 13 14, can also point you to support. If stress is the main reason you smoke, the Cleared Mind 24-hour Careline, 0800 212 146, can connect you with a counsellor.