STOPTOBER: It’s never too late to quit

AS the annual Stoptober campaign kicks off, encouraging smokers to quit en masse, here are your best options for giving up once and for all…

Are you still smoking? Despite a continuing decline in the number of smokers in the UK, nearly 15% of us are still puffing away.

Yet half of all smokers are eventually killed by their addiction – from smoking-related causes including cancer and heart disease. It’s no wonder then that of the 6.1 million remaining smokers in England, around six in 10 are desperate to quit.

So if you’ve decided to say hello to a healthier you this Stoptober, here are proven ways to quit safely... It isn’t easy to quit smoking using willpower alone, but stop-smoking aids have been proven to help manage nicotine cravings. There’s good evidence to show they increase chances of success, especially when combined with face-to-face support from a GP or a stop-smoking service. Smoking aids tend to be more effective when you combine them. Even if you’ve tried some before, they are more available now, so it’s worth looking at the different options and getting advice from your GP, pharmacist or local stop-smoking service on which would best suit you. The main three types are: get a constant top-up to reduce cravings overall. Inhalers, gum or lozenges, on the other hand, release nicotine quickly helping you to deal with those more intense, short-term cravings. People often find combining a patch with a fast-acting spray or gum covers off all bases to control the urge for a cigarette.

Your GP or stop-smoking service can prescribe NRTS or you can buy them over the counter from your pharmacy. You usually need to use them for at least 12 weeks – but you can safely carry on for as long is necessary to prevent you from smoking again.

Now used by an estimated 3.2 million people across Britain, e-cigarettes (also known as vapes) are seen by most experts as an effective way to overcome cravings.

They allow you to inhale nicotine in a vapour rather than smoke. They aren’t entirely risk-free, but only carry a small fraction of the risk of cigarettes.

Although research is ongoing, experts estimate they are at least 95% less harmful. The main reason for this is that they don’t burn tobacco or produce tar or carbon monoxide – three of the most damaging elements you inhale from cigarettes.

A rechargeable e-cigarette with a refillable tank delivers nicotine faster than a disposable model and is likely to give you a better chance of quitting smoking according to research. However, e-cigs aren’t currently available on the NHS, so you have to buy them from a vape shop or pharmacy.