How to stop smoking on National Non-Smoking Day: With Dr Emeka Okorocha

On national non-smoking day, the NHS is urging the six million smokers in the UK to make an effort to kick the habit.

Transcript

00:00And it's basically a non-smoking day campaign to encourage the 6 million people around the

00:05UK.

00:06If I had my doctor's hat on, I would go through a full history of your smoking history and

00:10why you want to stop and your medical information, but for this purpose, I would generally just

00:14be talking about, listen, there are a number of different resources and these are the key

00:18advice I would give you.

00:19I would definitely make sure you don't do it alone.

00:22Have an accountability partner because it's going to be so much easier and requires a

00:25lot less discipline and determination.

00:28Access the free resources available.

00:30If smokers are looking to quit, there are some methods offered by the NHS.

00:35A quit smoking app is available to mobile users.

00:38This offers real-time help with cravings and a personal quit plan, which provides tailored

00:43guidance based on tackling triggers and routines.

00:48Access your local resources, so your local stop smoking services or talk to a professional

00:52like me and then develop a plan and say, okay, this is my goal.

00:56If I want to quit by 2025, I'm going to start by cutting down, using these resources, maybe

01:01accessing behavioral therapy, looking at the app, and I'm going to call in with a family

01:06member or a friend who's going to check on me and help me in my time of need when I get

01:10these cravings.

01:11Would you suggest vaping as an alternative for people who are giving up or would you

01:16just say it's something people need to start staying away from because there's loads of

01:20research out there that just says a lot of different stuff?

01:23That's a very, very, very good question.

01:26Currently, the NHS does actually recommend nicotine vapes as an alternative to smoking

01:33for people who have been long-term smokers who are finding it very hard to quit.

01:38We've seen the evidence suggests when combined with behavioral support, it could be one of

01:42the most effective ways that people could actually quit smoking.

01:46We do recommend them.

01:47We don't recommend them to people who haven't smoked before to begin and start vaping as

01:51an alternative, but we use it as a nicotine replacement therapy in a sense because it

01:56can give you a small nicotine hit, which can help these cravings and withdraw symptoms

02:01without giving you the harmful chemicals, carbon monoxide, tar, and tobacco that we

02:06know comes from the cigarettes.

02:09I'm hoping, and this is me being very optimistic as a clinician at the health professional,

02:13I'm hoping eventually smoking will be almost a little bit taboo, that people will actually

02:18be embarrassed and ashamed to be smoking around their colleagues because so many people

02:22hopefully will quit.

02:23Obviously, everyone will be educated to the point where we know the benefits of stopping

02:26and we know the harmful effects of continuation of smoking.