What Is the Best Way to Quit Smoking? 5 Things You Can Try to Kick the Habit

Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of death worldwide. And it’s a major risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke. So quitting smoking is one of the best decisions you can make for your health. 

For those who want to quit or have loved ones who want to quit, here are some strategies on how to do it successfully. 

Why exactly are cigarettes deadly?

Nicotine is the addictive part of cigarette smoke. But other parts of cigarette smoke actually affect the risk for heart disease. Cigarette smoke contains over 7,000 toxic chemicals that hurt the body in several ways. Some of the more dangerous risks of cigarettes include:

• Blood clots

• Heart disease

• Lung disease

• Stroke

• Cancer

How hard is it to quit smoking?

If you’ve tried to quit and failed, you’re not alone. Almost 70% of people who smoke report that they want to stop smoking. But you may have to try to quit several times before you’re successful. More than half of people who smoke have made a previous attempt to quit in the past year.

This doesn’t mean you should stop trying, though. Many people eventually succeed.

Why is quitting so hard?

There are many reasons why quitting smoking may be a challenge. These include:

• A lack of resources: There are many tools to help you quit smoking. But most people don’t use them. Less than 1 out of 3 people use smoking cessation tools when trying to quit. 

• A lack of support: If you are living with someone who is still smoking, quitting won’t go well. People who live with others who smoke are less successful at quitting than those who ban smoking in their home. 

• Peer pressure: Having a social circle filled with others who smoke can make it harder to quit. On the other hand, if your peers quit, you may be more likely to do so.

5 tools to help you quit smoking

1. Medications

Medications approved for smoking cessation include:

• Varenicline: This medication mimics how nicotine affects the body. It has double the success rates in quitting. 

• Nicotine-replacement therapies (NRT): These help combat nicotine-withdrawal symptoms. They come in either a long-acting (patch) or short-acting form (gum, lozenge, inhaler, or nasal spray). Using a NRT in any form increases successful quit rates by 50% to 70%. 

• Bupropion (Zyban): This antidepressant may increase your chances of quitting smoking. But it has quite a few side effects. And you can’t take it if you have certain medical conditions. Talk to your provider to see if this is a good option for you.

2. Quitting ‘cold turkey’

When you stop smoking suddenly without decreasing how much you smoke over time, it’s called quitting “cold turkey.” While certainly not easy, some studies suggest that quitting cold turkey might work.

In one study, almost 50% of people who quit cold turkey had successfully stopped smoking after 4 weeks. This is compared to almost 40% of people who quit gradually. 

It’s important to note that while these people were trying to quit, they had support, such as counseling and NRT. This may also help explain why they were successful.

3. Smartphone apps

Smartphone apps to help people quit smoking are becoming more popular. But they are a relatively new approach, so there’s not as much evidence on them. Some apps have at least a bit of scientific support. 

Commonly used smoking cessation apps include:

• Quit Now

• Quit Tracker

• QuitSure 

• Stop Smoking - EasyQuit

• Smoke Free

• Craving to Quit

While apps offer an innovative and convenient way to help people quit smoking, there is more research needed on how well they work. And they aren’t available in all app stores. 

4. Avoid triggers

Different things may trigger you to pick up a cigarette, like certain situations or environments. Or it might be certain patterns that you have formed that remind you of smoking. 

If you want to be successful at quitting, it’s important to identify your triggers and then avoid them. Some common triggers for smoking include:

• Experiencing stress and anxiety

• Drinking alcohol or coffee

• Eating a meal

• Engaging in sexual activity

• Seeing others smoke

• Going out to a social event

• Having withdrawal symptoms 

5. Behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may be an effective strategy to help you quit smoking. But there is more research needed in this area. CBT is often used along with other tools to quit smoking. This seems to make it more effective. 

Some particular groups may benefit from CBT, including:

• Pregnant women

• Ethnic minority groups (like Black and Hispanic people)

• People with mental health disorders (like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia)

• People who struggle with substance abuse 

• People living with HIV

Can vaping help you quit smoking?

Vaping is a controversial approach to quitting — and not a very healthy one. Vaping is not an FDA-approved tool to quit smoking.

One study found that vaping was more effective in helping people quit than NRT. But that’s only when both methods were combined with behavioral support like counseling. 

The problem is that it can be equally as hard to quit vaping as it is to quit smoking. Among people who quit smoking through vaping, 80% were still vaping after a year. This is concerning because the long-term health effects of vaping are still unclear. But early research shows that vaping may increase your risk for lung disease and heart attacks. 

Vaping may reduce your exposure to the number of chemicals in cigarettes, but it still exposes you to dangerous toxins. In other words, vaping may be safer to use than cigarettes, but it’s not a healthy long-term option.

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Sharon Orrange, MD, MHS

Sharon Orrange, MD, MHS, is the director of wellness and preventative care at the Ellison Institute of Technology and an associate professor of clinical medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine.

Edited by:

Karla Robinson, MD

Karla Robinson, MD, is a medical editor for GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified family physician with almost 20 years of experience in health through varied clinical, administrative, and educational roles.

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