Understanding the science behind smoking to help you quit
If you’re struggling to stop smoking, you’re not alone. You might believe a lack of willpower is stopping you. But in fact, smoking causes a reaction in your body and mind that makes quitting hard.
Understanding why smoking is so addictive, and getting the right help and support, can give you the tools you need to quit. Here, I explain the science behind why smoking is so addictive and how to use this knowledge to help you to stop.
Why is smoking so addictive?
When you smoke, you inhale (breathe in) a substance called nicotine. This travels to your brain via your bloodstream. Nicotine is extremely addictive. This is mainly because it makes you feel good. Nicotine triggers receptors (special cells that receive chemical messages) in your brain to release a ‘happy hormone' called dopamine. Dopamine helps you to feel good both physically and mentally.
Once you’ve smoked for a while, your brain starts to expect nicotine in order to get a dopamine rush.
To make matters harder, the more you smoke, the more nicotine receptors you grow. So you need more nicotine to get the pleasurable effects from dopamine. You may start to get cravings and withdrawal symptoms if you reduce how much you smoke.
The good news is, as soon as you stop smoking, the amount of nicotine receptors in your brain start to reduce. This can make your cravings less strong and less frequent.
Why is it hard to quit smoking?
Stopping smoking is hard for two main reasons. Firstly, nicotine is addictive for your body and brain, which is why you can get hooked on it. But also, your behaviours and routines can keep you going back for more.
Physical reasons
It’s normal to want to do things that make you feel good. Your brain even ‘rewards’ you for doing these things. So you’ll want to repeat anything that feels nice and triggers dopamine, like eating and drinking.
Smoking gives you a very quick and strong surge of dopamine, which you’ll come to rely on. This explains why it can be tough to stop.
You can’t change the physical processes involved in addiction. But you can take some simple steps to change certain behaviours and routines which can help you to stop.
Behavioural reasons
You will have certain daily routines, like drinking coffee in the morning or relaxing with some TV in the evening. Sometimes, these routines can be triggers for you to smoke. This happens when your brain associates a habit or behaviour with nicotine. So, if you always smoke after dinner, you might find this a challenging time of day when you’re trying to quit.
Another reason quitting smoking can be tough is due to something known as the ‘present bias’. Naturally, you’re more motivated by short-term benefits. It takes a lot of patience and motivation to achieve longer-term goals. To quit, you have to push through the short-term struggle of cravings in order to get the longer-term benefits of quitting.
What happens to your body when you stop smoking?
Just 20 minutes after you have your last cigarette, your pulse and blood pressure will start to reduce.
Within around eight hours, the amount of oxygen in your blood returns to normal.
In the same amount of time, the amount of carbon monoxide in your blood will be reduced by half.
By the second day, it will be gone completely.
After about two days, your sense of taste will start to get better.
As early as two weeks after you stop, your circulation starts to improve.
After one month, your complexion may improve and any wrinkles might be reduced.
You might notice you cough less and that your breathing improves.
Between three and nine months after quitting, your lung function can increase by up to 10%.
By the end of the first year, your risk of a heart attack will drop by half.
After ten years of not smoking, your risk of lung cancer goes down to half that of a smoker.
Your risk of getting other cancers like mouth, throat, oesophageal, bladder and pancreatic cancer also all decrease.
After 15 years of not smoking, your risk of having a heart attack is the same as someone who never smoked.
And it's not just your physical health that can benefit, stopping smoking may also improve your mental health.
Giving up smoking is associated with having a more positive mood, as well as feeling less stressed and less anxious.
How can you quit smoking for good?
When you first decide to stop smoking, you need to help your body adjust to life without nicotine. Often a combination of different things can help you. You might benefit from a mix of expert support, more exercise and avoiding your smoking triggers.
You have several tools to choose from. Here are a few for you to try.
Change your mindset
As soon as you decide to quit smoking, consider yourself an ex-smoker. See yourself as someone ‘who used to smoke’ instead of someone who is ‘trying to quit’. This sends a powerful message to your brain that you’re serious about stopping. Some studies show that if you think this way you’re more likely to quit smoking for good.
Stick to the ‘not a puff’ rule
It can be tempting to just cut down on cigarettes. But this doesn’t help you to break the habit of smoking and makes relapse more likely. Instead, it’s much more helpful to stop completely.
Consider what you lose by smoking
Think about what smoking costs you personally or financially, not what you gain by quitting. This is known as loss aversion – you would rather avoid losing something than gaining something of the same value. You could think about how much money you lose each month by smoking as a way to motivate you to stop. Here’s a handy tool to help you calculate this amount.
Ask for help and support
Stopping smoking is best done with the support of others.
The following may help.
- If you feel comfortable to do so, share your commitment to quitting smoking with friends and/or family. This helps to hold you accountable and may boost your motivation to succeed. You might even find you inspire others to quit with you.
- Set a target date for when you want to have completely stopped smoking.
- Connect to a free smoking support service, via your GP or online.
- Use an evidence-based app such as NHS Quit Smoking, Smoke Free – Stop Smoking Now, to help set your goals and track your progress. Switch to nicotine patches or other forms of nicotine replacement therapy to help manage any cravings. This may include nasal sprays or e-cigarettes.
How to manage your smoking triggers
- Understand your triggers. Everyone is unique. Take the time to understand your triggers to help you plan ahead, avoid them or manage them if they do arise. It might help to adopt healthy habits to replace unhealthy habits. So instead of smoking you could read a book or clean up.
- Have a plan of action. Have go-to strategies in place that you can turn to if you’re tempted to smoke. This can really reduce your chances of relapse. One simple idea is taking five deep breaths to help you relax. Make an ‘if-then’ plan to plan ahead for situations when you think you’ll want to smoke. For example, “if my colleague asks to go for a smoke, then I will say no thanks I’m quitting”. This can help you to stick to new habits.
- Remove temptation. Avoid the sights and smells of smoking. Seeing someone smoking, or even smelling a cigarette, can result in cravings. Throw away any ashtrays, tobacco packets and lighters. Also clean any fabrics that hold onto the smell of smoke, such as curtains, clothing or blankets.
- Distract yourself. Cravings only last for a short time, so by the time you’ve rung a friend, watched a funny video or played with your dog, they should have passed. You can then move on with your day. Exercise might also help to distract you, such as brisk walking.
- Try urge surfing. This is when you let a craving ride out until the urge goes down. Think of your urge to smoke like an ocean wave that goes up and then falls. This can help you stay in control and the more you do it, the more effective it is.
- Keep your hands and mouth busy. Switch behaviours, for example instead of smoking you could chew gum or drink water.
Now you know that smoking changes your brain chemistry in a way that can make it hard to stop. But also, that the way you act and the things you do can keep you addicted.
Seeking help and changing your behaviours can all help. So, don’t go it alone – find the support you need to help you move on from smoking for good.
Are you interested in learning more about your health? Discover more about our range of health assessments.
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