Is it time to quit smoking?

Psychosocial motives: Experimentation usually occurs in the early teen years as a symbolic rite of passage to adulthood, spurred by pop culture and smart advertising. Smokers also tend to come from backgrounds that favour smoking.¹

Peer pressure: Those who face peer pressure from friends are more likely to adopt the habit².

Increase alertness: ‘Nicotine is a psychomotor stimulant and in new users it speeds simple reaction time and improves performance on tasks of sustained attention’. However, once a tolerance develops, chronic users do not continue to experience these same effects.¹

Stress buster: Smokers claim that cigarettes calm them down when stressed. However, studies point out that this may have more to do with nicotine withdrawal and the cyclical gratification received by continuous smoking.¹   

Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that are toxic to your health.

Nicotine: Nicotine is very addictive and keeps you wanting more.⁴

Carbon monoxide: This poisonous gas replaces oxygen in your blood which forces your heart to work much harder and also stops your lungs from working properly.⁴

Tar: This same substance that causes discoloration of smokers’ teeth and fingers contains cancer causing particles (carcinogens).⁴

Tobacco smoke also contains other toxic chemicals such as benzene, arsenic and formaldehyde.⁴

Smoking harms nearly every organ of your body⁵ and causes diseases.

Cancer: The toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke can damage or change a cell’s DNA causing the cell to grow out of control and create cancer tumors. Smoke also weakens the immune system, making it harder to kill cancer cells.⁶ 

Heart Disease & Stroke: Smoking is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases. It has been linked to raising triglyceride fats in your blood, lowering good (HDL) cholesterol, making blood sticky and more prone to clotting, increasing buildup of plaque inside blood vessels causing thickening and narrowing of the vessels.⁷

Lung Disease: Smoking is a leading cause of various types of lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis, asthma and lung cancer. The smoke can cause damage to the airways and air sacs in the lungs impairing its function.⁸

Mental Health: Evidence suggests that smoking contributes to increased anxiety and depression. The chemicals contained in smoke interferes with the chemicals in the brain causing negative side-effects.⁹ 

• Start the process with a positive mindset and can-do attitude.
• Make a plan: Set a date to quit and start making incremental efforts towards it i.e. smoke today but not tomorrow. Plan for exiting events like parties where the urge to smoke is stronger.
• Adjust your diet: Some foods, including meats, make cigarettes taste better while others such as fruits and vegetables make it taste terrible. Figure out what works for you.
• Change your drink: Studies show that fizzy drinks, alcohol, tea and coffee all make cigarettes taste better. Water and juice does otherwise. Pick your drinks wisely.
• Get support: If you know someone else who wants to quit smoking, make it a joint effort and support each other.
• Exercise: Even a few minutes of physical activity can help to cut cravings.
• Make non-smoking friends: They can help you in your process immensely.
• Nicotine Replacement Therapy: There are various NRT options such as patches, tablets and lozenges. These can help to deal with the nicotine addiction minus the detrimental effects of tobacco smoke.
• Make a list of reasons to quit: Write down all the reasons and keep revisiting them when you need support.¹⁰