How do you quit smoking: where do you start?

Where do you start?

The first step the Ministry of Health recommends is to pick a specific date and tell at least one person in the house. Not because the date matters in itself, but because a decision with a date attached and a witness is harder to postpone than a general intention.

Before that date, list the moments you smoke without thinking about it: after a meal, with coffee, on the way home from work. Those are the moments that will be hardest in the first week, and preparing for them in advance is more use than willpower.

What are the three evidenced methods?

Quitline counselling. 1800 6606, free, run by the Respiratory Centre at Bach Mai Hospital, open 08:00 to 22:00 daily with trained counsellors.

Nicotine replacement therapy. Patches, gum and lozenges licensed as cessation medicine. Ask a pharmacist or doctor about the right dose.

Prescription medication. Some oral medicines are prescribed by doctors for people quitting. Only on medical advice.

Counselling combined with either medication group performs better than either on its own.

Is cutting down enough?

Smoking fewer cigarettes a day is a step, but research shows it does not deliver most of the benefit that stopping does. People who go from twenty a day to ten tend to draw more deeply and hold the smoke longer, so intake does not fall in proportion to the count.

What if I fail?

Most people who stop for good tried several times first. One relapse does not erase the days you did not smoke. What helps is writing down when and why it happened, then setting a new date, rather than concluding that you cannot do it.