Smoking cessation a serious challenge- GATS research

Statistics show that in 2017, 83.9% of tobacco smokers planned to or were thinking about quitting. More than half (57.8%) of tobacco smokers made a quit attempt. Two-thirds of tobacco smokers (67.0%) who made a quit attempt tried to do so without any assistance. Amongst smokers who visited health care providers, 51.8% were asked if they smoked and 43.7% were advised to quit smoking. Overall, 7.0 percent of smokers quit in just 12 months.

Describing why it is difficult for one to quit smoking, Psychiatrist Dr Thula said, “Cigarettes should be rated as a potentially more harmful drug than illegal substances such as ecstasy and lysergide (LSD). Cigarettes lead to addiction, which is a chronic relapse disease; it affects the body and how it is supposed to function. When you smoke a cigarette it only takes six to 10 seconds for the nicotine to reach your brain. This makes smoking tobacco very addictive and difficult to stop.