Guardian Pharmacies are working with Nicorette to help kick the habit, either as a new year resolution or to help with any health concerns you may be having.
Our pharmacists are ready to help you along your journey, whether it be advice on what products work best or just reassurance and encouragement about your progress so far.
Set yourself milestones or goals to achieve for quitting, these can include things like: Setting a start date to quit, write a list of the reasons to quit and put it somewhere you see it every day, identify what makes you crave a cigarette and surround yourself with support- it can be family or even a friend to quit with.
Research has shown that the use of two different smoking cessation products increases your chance of quitting when compared to just using one or going cold turkey. Nicorette offers a diverse range from patches, gum, lozenges, and sprays- each with different strengths and flavors.
The Nicorette website also offers a money saving calculator so you can work out your potential savings for that little bit of extra motivation.
Link: https://www.nicorette.com.au/get-ready-to-quit/quit-smoking-calculator
Smoking and Covid-19
With Covid-19 around, now is as good of time as any to look after your health- especially because smokers have a higher risk of respiratory track infections and lung complications.
There is some evidence that people who smoke may be more severely affected by COVID-19. This may be because smoking damages the lungs, so they do not work as well. For example, lungs naturally produce mucus, but people who smoke have more and thicker mucus that is hard to clean out of the lungs. This mucus clogs the lungs and is prone to becoming infected. Smoking also affects the immune system, making it harder to fight infection.
There is also evidence that people with other health conditions (like cardiovascular disease and cancer) are more likely to have more severe COVID-19 disease. Smoking increases the risk of many of these conditions.
The hand-to-mouth action of smoking and e-cigarette use may also mean people who smoke are more vulnerable mainly because they are touching their face and mouth more often.
For more information go to: https://www.quit.org.au/articles/faqs-coronavirus-covid-19-and-smoking/