Why It’s Hard to Give Up Smoking 

The nicotine in cigarettes is addictive – but this physical attachment is not the only reason why quitting is difficult. To give up smoking for good, you also need to address the emotions and habits that you inevitably relate to smoking. 

Understand those, and you’re well on the way to a life without cigarettes.

Your emotions

Without realising it, you and cigarettes have formed a close relationship. They’re there to comfort you when things go badly, and in social situations like parties or a trip to the pub, they add to the enjoyment.

Your habits

We’re all creatures of habit. And having cigarettes as part of your daily routine makes them tough to give up. If you smoked 15 a day for 15 years, that’s 82,125 in all. At first, doing things without a cigarette in your hand will feel unnatural – but that will all change before long.

Your physical attachment

This is the one we all know about. What you may not know is that the nicotine in tobacco joins on to receptors in your brain which release chemicals that can make you feel calm and liven you up all at once. You crave the feeling of well-being you get from every puff. Years of smoking actually increases the number of these receptors that thrive on nicotine. When you give up smoking, the lack of nicotine to the receptors can cause physical withdrawal symptoms – cravings, anxiety and difficulty concentrating.

That’s where therapeutic nicotine products can help. They give you the nicotine your body craves without the cancer-causing smoke, leaving you free to focus your willpower on breaking the habit of smoking. The step-down programme gradually weans you off nicotine until you don’t need it anymore.

*compared to willpower alone.