The Best and Worst Ways to Quit Smoking

If you’re one of the millions of people in the United States who are trying to quit smoking, you should feel proud of yourself. Admitting that you want to kick the habit — and committing yourself to the process — is the first step along your journey to a smoking-free life. Just remember that not all smoking cessation advice is created equal.
Per the CDC, cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States, and more than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease. Smoking causes health conditions including cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis), and more, notes the CDC.
Unfortunately, despite their desire to be smoke-free, many people find it difficult to quit. Blame nicotine, a particularly addictive drug that’s found in tobacco products like cigarettes. According to the CDC, quitting nicotine can temporarily lead to withdrawal symptoms including:
Urges or cravings to smoke
Feeling irritated, grumpy, or upset
Feeling jumpy or restless
Difficulty concentrating
Trouble sleeping
Increased appetite or gaining weight
Feeling anxious, sad, or depressed
The good news is that it is possible to stop smoking — and the sooner you quit, the better. Take courage from the fact that since 2002, the number of former smokers has outgrown the number of current smokers, according to the CDC.
Nor do you have to go it alone: If you’re trying to quit, there are many treatment options available that can help you stop smoking for good — you just have to know how to spot them.
Best Ways to Quit Smoking
Nicotine Replacement
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) — in the form of chewing gum, lozenges, inhalers, nasal sprays, and nicotine patches — helps you quit smoking by gradually providing your body with smaller doses of nicotine over time, while sparing you from the toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When used in conjunction with a behavioral program, NRT has been found to help people quit smoking.
Moreover, using two NRTs together (known as combination NRT), such as the patch and gum or the patch and lozenges, is more likely to help you quit successfully than using just one, according to the CDC.
Combination NRT means putting on a patch each morning to achieve a steady level of nicotine and reduce your withdrawal symptoms all day long, notes the CDC. Then, on an as-needed basis, you use an additional nicotine medicine like lozenges or gum, which work more quickly when you feel a sudden urge to smoke or a breakthrough craving coming on.
Prescription Medications
Varenicline mimics some of the effects that nicotine has on your brain, which reduces your urge to smoke and some withdrawal symptoms. It also decreases the enjoyment you get from the nicotine in cigarettes, per the CDC.
Although the drugs aren’t addictive, they do have potential side effects, which could include changes in behavior, depressed mood, hostility, aggression, and suicidal thoughts or actions, according to the FDA.
If you have a history of mental health struggles, talk to your doctor before taking these medications.
The most common side effects of varenicline include nausea, constipation, gas, vomiting, and trouble sleeping or vivid/strange dreams. Varenicline may also change how you react to alcohol, per the FDA.
The most common side effects linked to bupropion are dry mouth and insomnia, notes the FDA. Because bupropion hydrochloride contains the same active ingredient as the antidepressant bupropion, the FDA advises talking to your healthcare provider about the risks of treatment with antidepressant drugs. People who have seizures should avoid bupropion.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
The noninvasive treatment generates electromagnetic pulses that stimulate neurons in parts of the brain associated with addiction, according to BrainsWay.
A double-blind, randomized controlled trial published in World Psychiatry in October 2021 found Deep TMS to be an effective smoking cessation treatment, significantly improving the continuous quit rate and reducing craving as well as the average number of cigarettes smoked per week. The 262 participants in the study were highly addicted to smoking, with a history of smoking an average of over 26 years and several failed attempts to quit.
According to the trial, the most frequent side effect of Deep TMS was headache, along with various forms of pain or discomfort (application site pain or discomfort; pain in the jaw; facial pain; muscle pain, spasms, or twitching; neck pain), which were usually reported as either mild or moderate and resolved shortly after treatment.
Help From the Experts
Counseling can help you make a plan to quit smoking, and also prepare you to cope with stress, the urge to smoke, and other challenges you may face when trying to quit, according to the CDC.
Worst Ways to Quit Smoking
Some of the worst or least successful ways to quit smoking are hypnotherapy, laser therapy, and herbs and dietary supplements.
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy, a complementary medicine that uses the imagination to help break bad habits or deal with stress, may seem like a popular smoking cessation aid, but the American Cancer Society (ACS) says that there isn’t enough evidence to show that it works.
Low-Level Laser Therapy
Similar to acupuncture, low-level laser therapy (or cold laser therapy) is a type of treatment that uses low-intensity light to stimulate certain points on the body.
Fans say that the light stimulates brain chemicals that can then help you quit smoking — research, however, doesn’t back up these claims.
In fact, some supplements have side effects, and some (St. John’s wort in particular) may interact with drugs or other supplements, leading to adverse effects, adds the NCCIH.
Promising but Risky: Cutting Down and E-Cigs
Still other ways to quit smoking have the potential to help you kick the habit, but include some risks, have limited benefits, or are not yet proven to be effective.
Gradually Cutting Down on Cigarettes
Evidence shows that smokers who reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke each day are more likely to attempt and successfully quit smoking, according to a review of data published in BMC Medicine in October 2015. Moreover, long-term reduced smoking may directly benefit health, although the benefits are small compared with quitting altogether, per the review.
The review authors note that smoking reduction is a promising intervention, particularly when supported by clean nicotine, such as the nicotine used in electronic cigarettes. But “the benefits [of smoking reduction] are only observed when it leads to permanent cessation,” meaning quitting altogether, the authors add.
Electronic Cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes, also called e-cigs, vapes, e-hookahs, and vape pens, are not currently approved by the FDA as smoking cessation aids. But they do have the potential to benefit adult smokers if they are used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products, according to the CDC.
Studies have had mixed results regarding whether e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking, and more research is still needed.
It is known that e-cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, and pregnant women, or for adults who do not currently use tobacco products.
While e-cigarettes are considered less harmful than regular cigarettes (the aerosol generally contains fewer toxic chemicals than the 7,000 found in regular cigarette smoke), that doesn’t mean they are safe, according to the CDC. E-cigarette aerosol can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including nicotine, heavy metals like lead, volatile organic compounds, and cancer-causing agents.
According to the American Lung Association (ALA), e-cigarettes produce a number of dangerous chemicals, including acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde, which can cause lung disease as well as heart disease.
E-cigarettes also contain acrolein, a herbicide primarily used to kill weeds, which can cause acute lung injury and COPD and may cause asthma and lung cancer.
Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which can harm adolescent and young adult brain development, and can contain chemicals that are harmful to the lungs, notes the CDC. And youth e-cigarette use is associated with the use of other tobacco products, including cigarettes.
In other words, if you don’t smoke, don’t start using e-cigarettes as a “safe” alternative.