What’s the best way to stop smoking?

There’s no right or wrong way to stop smoking, but some methods have shown to be better than others.

The most effective way to stop smoking is to use a stop smoking service, which will provide you with free expert advice and guidance for the first few months of stopping. Evidence shows that people who use a stop smoking service are four times more likely to quit for good compared to people that go it alone.

Using a stop smoking treatment like nicotine patches or Varenicline (Champix), which is available only on prescription, has shown to double the chances of stopping smoking for good. Also e-cigarettes have been shown to be similarly as effective and are very popular with smokers and ex-smokers. They are not completely risk free but are at least 95% less harmful compared to cigarettes.

The most common but least effective way of trying to stop is going it alone or going “cold turkey” as it’s often described. Some people do succeed using just this method, but the majority of people often relapse at some point.

If you want to find out more about different ways of stopping smoking, you can talk to your GP, contact Leeds Stop Smoking Services, the local service for stopping smoking, or see the NHS Smokefree website.