Smoking is without a doubt an incredibly harmful and unhealthy habit. The World Health Organisation classifies a number of ingredients contained within tobacco cigarettes as being toxic and potentially cancer-causing. The general public is well are of the dangers and yet still, so many still choose to smoke. One of the main reasons for this is that smoking is highly addictive and quitting is hard. We look at Stoptober, the stop smoking campaign to find out excellent ways to help you quit smoking for good.

Why is Smoking So Hard to Quit

The first response to “why is smoking so hard to quit” is usually, “it’s the nicotine”. This does have a large slice of truth to it; nicotine is an addictive substance however, there are other factors at play. Scientific studies suggest that other aspects of smoking contribute to smoking addiction, namely the physical habits such as the hand to mouth movement, the act of having something in your hand and of course the social aspect. All of this combined means that quitting smoking, especially when going cold turkey, may require additional support.

What is Stoptober

Stoptober is an annual public health event which is run by Public Health England. Every October smokers are encouraged via numerous public health campaigns which are advertised in doctor surgeries, on social media and more to choose October as the month that they will quit smoking. Numerous sources of support are available for those choosing to use the Stoptober campaign and the results over the past few years have been fantastic.

Who is Behind Stoptober

Public Health England, the government organisation that are responsible for all thing public health-related, including both awareness and harm reduction, are responsible for the Stoptober campaign. Public Health England was also the organisation responsible for the Go Smoke Free legislation which went live in 2007. This is the legislation which was responsible for effectively banning tobacco smoking in public places, on public transport and at work.

Stoptober and Vaping

For the first time, the materials for the Stoptober campaign in 2017 listed e cigarettes as a valid cessation tool. This meant that Public Health England were advocating for the use of e cigs as a way to help people to quit and this was seen as a very positive step forward in terms of boosting the acceptance of vaping nationally as well as offering additional ways for those who have previously struggled to quit smoking, to be in with a chance for success.

In addition to this, PHE released their much-awaited review this spring in which they hailed vaping flavoured e liquids as being at least 95% less harmful than smoking and have released recommendations to the government in which they push for vaping to be recognised as an official cessation device so that it may be prescribed by doctors.

Why is Stoptober So Successful

There are many reasons why the month-long Stoptober event has proven so successful. One of these is that there is so much support available. As well as the website, there is a dedicated stop smoking Stoptober app, a Facebook page and numerous off-shoot Facebook public groups, a wealth of printed information, encouraging billboards and a community of fellow smokers and ex-smokers on hand to help. Quitting smoking en-masse has proven to be very successful for some. Indeed, some individuals have even chosen use Stoptober as a way to make money and raise awareness for various health charities.

In Summary

It is heartening to see so many smokers giving up smoking altogether or switching over to the significantly healthier vaping alternative. With vaping being so very much more acceptable these days and proven to be healthier it is hoped that this year that the Stoptober stop smoking October-wide event will be the most successful year yet. If you are considering giving up smoking please have a look at the Stoptober information online.