9 ways to quit smoking you probably haven’t tried

The cost-of-living crisis is forcing most people to rethink the way they live their lives

With energy prices at record highs, the price of food creeping up and inflation currently at 12%, at the time of writing, according to figures from Teneo, people’s expendable cash is being stretched further than we have seen since the financial crash of 2008.

Quitting smoking, therefore, could be one way to make your expendable cash go further.

The average price for a 20 pack of king size cigarettes is £12.71 in the UK – up from just a 1 penny 35 years ago, making smoking a particularly expensive habit to keep up.

Most people in the UK smoke between 11 and 20 cigarettes a day; at the top end of that scale, a 20-a-dayer could save more than £4,600 every year if they quit smoking.

Get started with Vitality

As a Vitality member, you could save up to £349 on the Allen Carr Stop Smoking Programme. Available with qualifying health insurance and life insurance. Log into Member Zone for the details.

Evolution Money says that could buy a family of four a two-week break, with the average holiday costing around £4,700.

“There really has never been a better time to quit smoking,” says Julie Newman and Greg Mann, Clinical Management Coaches at Pelago, previously known as Quit Genius, a Vitality partner.

With the cost of tobacco continuing to rise, along with the standards of living, the pressure on day-to-day family health has never been greater.”

They add: “The NHS is continuing to feel the pressure and smoking costs are approximately £6bn per year.”

Taking control of your health

But it’s not just all about the financial benefits.

The health implications of smoking are well documented; if you’re a smoker, you are at higher risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung disease, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Time, however, is something else you can enjoy back when you quit smoking.

The average person wastes 4 hours a week by smoking, according to Pelago, that works out at 208 hours a week, or 8 days a year, in which you could have been something, hopefully, more worthwhile.

Receive the right support for you

Vitality makes it cheaper and easier to get healthy through discounts and motivating rewards. If you’re a Vitality member and you quit smoking with Pelago, you can earn 1,200 points when you complete the 12-week quit smoking programme.

On the subject of time, the life expectancy of smokers is at least 10 years shorter than that of non-smokers, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

And by quitting smoking before the age of 40, it can also reduce the risk of dying from smoking-related diseases by around 90%

9 ways to a smoke-free life

Once you’ve made the decision that you want to live a smoke-free life, picking a quit date is the best way to start. Add it to your calendar and prepare yourself.

When the hesitations inevitably kick in, remember that you are gaining from quitting smoking not losing out.

Reframing in your mind that you are ‘quitting’ smoking, rather than ‘giving up’, makes it feel less challenging and that you are not losing out on a part of your life.

Once you made up your mind, follow these recommendations from the NHS to get your quitting journey on the road and, more importantly, make sure you stick to it.

Sticking to stopping smoking

• List your reasons to quit
• Tell people you are quitting
• If you have tried to quit before, remember what worked
• Use stop smoking aids, such as the Pelago's app, Allen Carr’s stop smoking programme or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)
• Have a plan if you are tempted to smoke
• List your smoking triggers and how to avoid them
• Keep cravings at bay by keeping busy
• Exercise away the urge
• Join an online support group

“There are a range of different ways to effectively quit smoking,” Newman and Mann add.

“Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is one of the best methods and takes a therapeutic approach for treating problematic behaviours, such as smoking

“Alongside this, motivational interviewing (MI) can also provide a client-centred approach to behavioural change, focusing on the motives and empowering the individual making a quit attempt.”

Start your quit smoking journey with Vitality

Find out more about you can start your quit smoking journey with Vitality by logging into Member Zone, or find out how to become a Vitality member via vitality.co.uk.