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I am not ready to quit – what are my options?

Electronic cigarettes

If you are not ready to quit, then you should consider switching to electronic cigarettes. At the moment we do not know how vaping affects your risk of getting coronavirus or your body’s ability to cope with the virus. However, vaping is less harmful than continuing to smoke. You should purchase electronic cigarettes from your local supermarket or a reputable online distributor. Electronic cigarettes should not be shared with other people.

Reducing your cigarette consumption

If you are not ready to quit just yet and unwilling to switch to an electronic cigarette, consider how you could reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke a day. To improve the efficiency of your lungs and to reduce your risk of being infected by coronavirus you should aim to stop within a few weeks.

Tips for reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke:

  • Set yourself a plan with a quit date and how much you want to cut down each day or week before the quit date
  • Use a fast acting NRT (nicotine replacement therapy), such as gum or a lozenge to replace cigarettes that can be purchased from your local supermarket. It is safe to use NRT whilst cutting down the number of cigarettes you smoke
  • Ask people in your household for their support, e.g. if you live with a smoker cut down together and set the same quit date
  • Put your cigarettes, matches, lighter and ashtray out of sight when you are not smoking, e.g. in a cupboard
  • Consider the times of the day and what you are doing when you are most likely to feel like smoking and think of ways you can distract yourself or change your habit
  • Commit to only smoking outside to protect your loved ones