Do Nothing

On average cigarette smokers live ten years less than non-smokers. They acquire one or more medical conditions that are costly to treat, reduce work productivity and lower quality of life. Smoking is expensive with annual costs ranging from $2000 to $4000. All of this improves with quitting. There are over 100 million former smokers living in the USA today

Quit now and try repeatedly

Most cigarette smokers require repeated efforts over several years before they remain smoke free. Tobacco cessation counselling is available from your health plan and/or 1-800-QUIT-NOW at no charge. Medications approved by the FDA can double your chances of success and they are available at no cost under almost all health insurance. Some smokers require two types of medication at the same time.

Consider E-cigarettes for cessation

Consider E-cigarettes for harm reduction

Consider other sources of nicotine for harm reduction.

Consider a trial of quitting

E-cigarettes are as effective as nicotine patches to help people stop smoking. They work best as part of a quit plan that includes counselling. Although vaping is thought to be safer than smoking, any potential benefit of a shift from smoking to vaping is eliminated if vapers smoke intermittently.

There are many unknowns about E-cigarettes, but they are perceived to be less harmful than smoking cigarettes. The FDA has reviewed the safety of some types of e-cigarettes and has approved then for marketing. A list is available here

The safety of other sources of nicotine such as Nicotine pouches is unknown. Some nicotine proacts such as SNUS has the following FDA approved label “No tobacco product is safe, but this product presents substantially lower risks than cigarettes.”