How’s your Stoptober going? Managed to make it through the month so far? If you have no idea what we’re talking about, the Stoptober campaign is an annual health kick created by Public Health England. It sits under the Better Health campaign, supported by the NHS. It encourages tobacco smokers to ditch their daily habits and attempt 28 days smoke-free. Chances are you can’t do that cold turkey. Therefore, many turn to vaping during October as an alternative.
What is the Stoptober Campaign?
Stoptober is simply another way to give smokers a better chance of quitting. Any addiction is hard to kick to the curb – from gambling to alcohol. People need all the help they can get and a focus to distract their mind. Stoptober is the initiative that seems to make a difference.
Whether you begin your journey at the start of October or half way through, when you start doesn’t matter. It’s purpose is to reach the government’s goal of a smoke-free society by 2030. Since the challenge launched in 2012, over two million smokers to date have declared their participation in the programme, which provides support online via their dedicated website to all things Stoptober.
Find real-life accounts from those who have succeeded in their cessation as well as a host of top tips and products that will go some way to alleviating the withdrawal process. The updated app on any smart phone also has several fun features such as games to keep you going, with daily rewards to track your progress. Sign up anytime throughout October and you’ll receive a step-by-step personalised guide to help you through the month. Additionally, you can download the Stoptober app to your smartphone. This will enable you to track your progress daily, show you how much money you may be saving by not smoking. Meanwhile, it offers advice and support for those times when you need it the most.
Reasons to Stop Smoking
Endeavouring to quit smoking during the Stoptober campaign or any time of the year is naturally an arduous task, both mentally and physically. The habit of smoking tobacco cigarettes is led by the addictive nature of nicotine and the added burden of up to 20% of natural sugars. As your tobacco habit has developed, your body has, of course, become accustomed to the increased levels of both nicotine and sugar that you’ve been consuming, hence why trying to quit smoking is such an infamous venture to undertake.
Withdrawal of both nicotine and sugar mean that without any kind of substitute, you will more than likely find yourself to be irritable, irrational, and with a real craving for sweet treats. Sustained and habitual use of tobacco will ultimately mean that when you quit smoking, your body will have to re-adjust and re-balance itself to a more natural order, which in itself isn’t always the speediest of processes.
How to Stop Smoking and Start Vaping
There are all sorts of products on the market that can help with nicotine withdrawal. These include the traditional means of nicotine gum and nicotine patches, as well as some prescribed medicines.
A great tool to help combat the withdrawal of both nicotine and sugar is the use of e-cigarettes. Vaping is even backed by the NHS as a useful tool to help you quit, with 2.7 million using them to date in the UK. In 2015 Public Health England declared e-cigarettes to be up to 95% less harmful than smoking tobacco and that vaping has the potential to help smokers quit. And because you can purchase e-liquids with naturally sweet flavours, it helps to replace the habit of cigarettes and the need for sugar.
Battery powered, an e-liquid contained within a pre-made cartridge or re-usable cartridge is then heated via an atomiser to produce a vapour that simulates smoking. E-liquid’s such as VSAVI’s Gourmet Range, VG (vegetable glycerin) based e-liquids are available in a variety of traditional tobacco flavours, as well as a range of fruity flavours for when your sugar cravings kick in. Additionally, VSAVI Gourmet Range e-liquids are also available in differing nicotine strengths. This means that over time, you’ll be able to reduce your nicotine levels to zero and become both smoke and nicotine-free.
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Tracey Jackson discovered the life-changing potential of vaping after making the switch from smoking several years ago. Tracey specialises in writing expert reviews and helping others find the best vapes on the market.
