WHO Tweeted That Tobacco Quitters Are Winners

Quitting tobacco is not easy as tobacco dependence is a cluster of behavioural, cognitive and physiological phenomena. Very few tobacco users can successfully quit the habit in their first attempt. But the evidence is strong that it can be done. From quitlines to counselling to prescription medicines, there are numerous effective ways to quit.

Quitting tobacco is not easy as tobacco dependence is a cluster of behavioural, cognitive and physiological phenomena. Very few tobacco users can successfully quit the habit in their first attempt. Social norms do not support tobacco users quitting in some high-burden countries. For example, the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) shows that:

• In China: only 23.2% of Chinese adults believe smoking causes serious illnesses. Only 24.6% believe exposure to tobacco smoke causes heart disease and lung cancer in adults and lung illnesses in children. Only 16.1% of current adult smokers plan to or are thinking about quitting in the next 12 months.
• In India, about 26% of current adult smokers plan to or are thinking about quitting in the next 12 months.

Evidence-based support to quit tobacco use (tobacco dependence treatment) includes methods from simple medical advice to pharmacotherapy, along with quitlines and counselling. However, tobacco users have low levels of awareness of the evidence about these tobacco dependence treatment interventions.

Here Is A Quit Plan:

• Set a quit date. It is important to set a quit date as soon as possible.
• Tell your friends, family, and coworkers. It is important to share your goal to quit with those you interact frequently. • Ask them for support and for understanding.
• Anticipate challenges to the upcoming quit attempt. Quitting smoking is no easy feat, so you are brave and courageous for committing to this goal!
• Remove tobacco products from your environment. It’s important to minimize exposure to smoking cues. If the tobacco products are still around, you will be more tempted to pick them up and smoke.
• Quitting tobacco is the best thing that tobacco users can do to protect the health of themselves and others. Tobacco users need to absorb two beliefs to make themselves ready to quit. They are: “quitting is important to me and I want to be a non-tobacco user” and “I have a chance of quitting successfully.”

Over To You:
All healthcare workers should become advocates for tobacco control. Governments can use some tobacco tax revenues to help tobacco users free themselves from addiction.