Smoking Cessation

Smoking cessation (also known as quitting smoking or simply quitting) is the process of discontinuing tobacco smoking. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, which is addictive and can cause dependence. Nicotine withdrawal makes the process of quitting often difficult. Seventy percent of smokers would like to quit smoking, and 50 percent report attempting to quit within the past year. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. Tobacco cessation significantly reduces the risk of dying from tobacco-related diseases such as coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer. Due to its link to many chronic diseases, cigarette smoking has been restricted in many public areas. Many different strategies can be used for smoking cessation, including abruptly quitting without assistance ("cold turkey"), cutting down then quitting, behavioral counseling, and medications such as bupropion, cytisine, nicotine replacement therapy, or varenicline. Most smokers who try to quit do so without assistance, though only 3% to 6% of quit attempts without assistance are successful long-term. Behavioral counseling and medications each increase the rate of successfully quitting smoking, and a combination of behavioral counseling with a medication such as bupropion is more effective than either intervention alone. A meta-analysis from 2018, conducted on 61 RCT, showed that one year after people quit smoking with the assistance of first line smoking cessation medications (and some behavioral help), only approximately 20% of them sustained abstinent, as compared to around 12% who did not take medication. In nicotine-dependent smokers, quitting smoking can lead to symptoms of nicotine withdrawal such as nicotine cravings, anxiety, irritability, depression, and weight gain.:2298 Professional smoking cessation support methods generally attempt to address nicotine withdrawal symptoms to help the client break free of nicotine addiction.

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