The health risks of smoking are many and it still doesn’t seem to faze smokers from getting their daily fix. It doesn’t matter if you smoke once a day or a whole packet in a day, its damaging effects will compound with each drag. The main cause of smoking addiction is because of nicotine – a highly potent drug that gives you a kick that provides your brain with a “feel good” effect. One reason why people take solace in smoking is because of this particular trait that boosts your mood, relieves stress, and helps you relax. Smoking is a way to cope with stress and any form of negative emotion - this makes perfect sense why people resort to smoking when under stress or merely for recreational purposes. What differentiates smoking addiction from other forms of addiction is that it becomes a part of our lives without much effort. Many smokers have their tea with smoke, take a smoke break during work, join friends or colleagues for a smoke just because you can bond over it, some even need a smoke while visiting the restroom. It gets ingrained in our daily routine with such ease and we don’t even realise it until it's too late to quit it.

Coming to the real question; how do we quit smoking? There is no one hard and fast way to go about it. It depends on the individual’s lifestyle and personal preferences. Some prefer to set a routine they can follow and reduce their smoking over time. Some take their family and friends to help them quit smoking through intervention and an assortment of practices to reduce their smoking intake over time. The more adventurous types can also go for the cold turkey method which is essentially a test of one’s willpower. Over the recent years, a new method called Nicotine Replacement Therapy has come to light and has become incredibly popular among all who wish to quit smoking. It is a transdermal patch which delivers a certain amount of nicotine through the skin. It will help you reduce your cravings and help you to resist the urge to smoke over 12 weeks before you go clean!