How can I quit smoking?

Cutting out smoking completely is very difficult for most patients, but doing so can drastically reduce the risks to your pregnancy and your own health. There are a number of nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) such as: nicotine gum, patches, tablets, lozenges, inhalers (not the same thing as a vape), sprays, and strips. 

E-cigarettes are not a good option because they are not licensed or controlled for safety in pregnancy and we have no evidence that they are any safer in the long-term than cigarettes. 

Giving up smoking cold-turkey is hard. If you can give yourself time to quit gradually during the time when you are trying to get pregnant, this might be more effective. This involves reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke by one or two every week until you are completely off of cigarettes.

If you are pregnant and trying to stop smoking, you can also try substituting cigarettes with one of the NRTs mentioned above. This could mean using a patch and quitting all cigarettes or using an inhaler or gum and replacing a single cigarette here and there as you cut down. The goal is to get you to stop and stop for good, rather than quit for a week, and then fall off the bandwagon and start up all over again. 

When you are tempted to smoke, try the following:

• Delay the act of smoking as long as you can (and substitute it with an NRT if you can)
• Deep breaths
• Drink water
• Do something else (something with your hands is best)

We have medications that can help with the urges. Talk to your doctor to see if these are right for you.