Advisory by Marcus Heng, Guardian Pharmacist
Why is it so hard to give up smoking?
Nicotine is a highly addictive substance found in cigarettes and withdrawal symptoms like mood changes, insomnia and weight gain often make it hard to quit. About two-thirds of smokers try to quit but only 2% will eventually succeed.
What are some of the benefits of quitting smoking?
Most smokers recognize the detrimental health effects of smoking but the main motivation to quit comes ultimately from concern about the well-being of their loved ones. Besides large monetary savings from cigarettes, ex-smokers will regain their suppressed sense of flavour and smell. The risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease will drop drastically and physical fitness will improve too. Finally, they will rid themselves of the social stigma as smokers.
Are alternative tobacco products safe?
There are alternatives to cigarettes like bidis, e-cigarettes or shisha; however, many of these are not approved or even banned as they may cause more harm than good.
