“I’ve smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for 40 years—what’s the use of quitting now?”

If you quit smoking, you are likely to add years to your life, breathe more easily, and have more energy. You will have extra money for spending or saving, and food will taste better. When you quit smoking, you join over a million people who stop smoking each year. Whether you are young or old, you will also:

• have less chance of cancer, heart attack, and lung disease,
• have better blood circulation,
• have no odor of smoke in your clothes and hair,
• have a better sense of taste,
• set a healthy example for children and grandchildren,
• have a more sensitive sense of smell, and
• have healthier family members, particularly children and grandchildren.

What Smoking Does

Cigarette smoke damages your lungs and airways. Air passages swell and, over time, you will have more and more trouble clearing mucus from your air passages. This can cause a cough that won’t go away. Sometimes this leads to a lung disease called chronic bronchitis. If you keep smoking, normal breathing may become harder and harder as emphysema develops. In emphysema, your lung tissue is destroyed, making it very hard to get enough oxygen.

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Most people who quit smoking use a combination of quit methods. Research shows people are more likely to succeed in quitting smoking if they combine several supports¹.

For example, you can join a support group, and also have some gum or patches on hand to overcome cravings. You will need to find the combination of supports that works best for you.

Here are some of the most common quit methods:

Support groups/counselling

Most people find it helpful to join a support group, get counselling or read self-help books. This type of support will help you understand what to expect and better cope with withdrawal symptoms. Contact your provincial Lung Association to find out more about support groups and programs offered in your community.

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Quitting smoking may be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. But it gets easier with practice. Research shows that every time you try to quit, you boost your chances of quitting for good. Your chance of success is even higher if you combine quit methods like counselling, nicotine replacement (”the patch”) or other medications.

Quitting smoking is a process that requires careful planning, courage, discipline, and commitment. You can succeed by following this advice:

• Four steps to quitting
• Proven quit smoking methods
• Nicotine withdrawal: symptoms & remedies
• How to cope with cravings
• Quitting checklist

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