Quitting tobacco can be very challenging. It takes on average 5 to 7 attempts to stay quit. Each time you try, you will learn things that will help you the next time you try. This may include learning what triggers you to smoke.
The key is to just keep trying!
It took a while to develop this behavior and it will likely take some time to work your way back out of it. There are more people who quit tobacco than who use tobacco, so believe you can do it! It may just take you a few tries to get there.
When trying to quit, some people try a different tobacco or tobacco-like product they think will cause less harm to their health. However, there are Health Canada approved alternatives. These options will help with cravings and reduce the harm to you and your family.
Talk with your health care provider or pharmacist about nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and non-nicotine medications to help with the physical and emotional side effects of quitting.
If you’ve used NRT or another product in the past and it didn’t work well for you, speak with your health care provider or pharmacist. Sometimes a change in dose or changing when and how you use the product can make a difference.
If you take medicines for a health condition, talk with your health care provider before you quit smoking to see whether you should change the dose of any of your medicines.