Quit smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your heart, your health and your whānau. Find out how smoking and vaping affect your heart and what support is available to help you become smokefree.

How smoking affects your heart and overall health

Smoking damages many parts of your body. It’s a major risk factor for heart disease, heart attack or stroke.  

Research shows that people who smoke tend to live 10 years less, on average, than people who have never smoked or stop before middle age. However, stopping at any age has benefits.  

Smoking affects your body by:   

• raising your blood pressure and heart rate  
• lowering oxygen levels in your blood 
• reducing blood flow to your heart and brain 
• increasing the risk of blood clots 
• damaging your arteries 
• weakening the walls of your arteries, increasing the risk of an aneurysm (bulging blood vessel) 
• harming your lungs and making breathing harder   
• increasing the risk of chronic lung disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) 
• increasing the risk of poor blood flow to your legs  
• lowering ‘good cholesterol’ and raising triglycerides. 

Breathing in other people’s smoke (second-hand smoke) increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and asthma in non-smokers.  

When you quit, your risk starts to fall. You also protect your whānau from second-hand smoke.

Benefits of quitting smoking

There is never a bad time to stop smoking. Stopping smoking at any age has significant health benefits. These start quickly and build up over time.

Heart and blood vessels

• Within 20 minutes of stopping smoking, your heart rate and blood pressure begin to fall. 
• Within hours, oxygen levels improve and strain on your heart reduces. 
• Within weeks, your heart and blood vessels work more efficiently. 
• After one year, your risk of heart attack and stroke is about half that of someone who continues to smoke. 
• After 10–15 years, your risk of heart attack can be close to that of someone who has never smoked.

Other benefits

• Breathing becomes easier and you may cough or wheeze less 
• Taste and smell improve 
• Gums and breath become healthier  
• Skin may look healthier   
• Long-term lung disease risk falls 
• Risk of lung cancer and some other cancers falls  
• Reduced exposure to second-hand smoke for your whānau.  

It’s never too late to quit. Stopping at any stage improves your health.

The impact of nicotine

Nicotine is the chemical in tobacco that makes smoking addictive and keeps people smoking.   

It makes it difficult to quit and you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as cravings, headaches or mood swings.  

Many people use nicotine replacement to manage these symptoms, for example patches, lozenges or gum. In the last few years vaping has increased in popularity as a replacement for smoking.

What is the difference between smoking and vaping?

Smoking and vaping both deliver nicotine, but in different ways.  

Smoking burns tobacco to make smoke. It’s the smoke that causes the major health risks from smoking. Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that harm your heart, lungs and blood vessels. This increases your risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke. 

Vaping uses an electronic device to heat a liquid and produce an aerosol. It doesn’t involve tobacco smoke, but it can still expose you to other chemicals and may affect your heart, lungs and blood vessels. Most vapes contain nicotine.They come in different strengths, including nicotine-free.  

Major reviews of the evidence suggest that vaping is a lot less harmful than smoking. Many people use vapes to stop smoking as they help with nicotine withdrawal and replace cigarettes.

Is vaping less harmful to heart health than smoking?

Being smoke-free and vape-free is best for heart health.  

If you smoke, switching completely to vaping is less harmful than continuing to smoke. This is because vaping doesn’t burn tobacco, which creates harmful chemicals that damage your heart and blood vessels.

Benefits of giving up vaping

If you vape to stop smoking, we recommend stopping vaping once you’re sure you won’t go back to smoking. 

Giving up vaping removes nicotine and other chemicals that can stress your heart, blood vessels and lungs.  

After quitting vaping: 

• heart rate and blood pressure return to your normal levels 
• breathing may feel easier, and you may cough less 
• mouth and throat irritation may improve.

Quitting support and tools

Ways to quit smoking

Most people are more likely to quit if they have support and use stop smoking medicines or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Together, these can more than double your chances of quitting for good. 

• Talk to your GP, practice nurse or pharmacist. 
• Use stop smoking medicines or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), which is available as patches, gum, lozenges, inhalators and sprays. NRT is free when you sign up with your local stop smoking service.  
• Get free support from Quitline by phone (0800 778 778), text (4006) or online. 
• Join a support programme – these can be one-on-one or group based. 
• Work with a free quit coach. 
• Ask friends or whānau to support you. 
• Use a quit smoking app. Visit the Healthify App Library to find one.

Getting ready to quit

These steps can help you prepare and stay on track when you’re ready to quit smoking: 

• Write down your reasons for quitting and keep them visible.  
• Choose a quit date and commit to it. 
• Tell people you trust so they can support you. 
• Remove cigarettes and tobacco from your home, car and bags. 
• Plan for times you’re more likely to smoke, such as stress or social situations. 
• Contact your local stop smoking service for support. 
• Talk to your healthcare provider about stop smoking medicines.

Tips to help you quit smoking

Quitting smoking often works best when different approaches are used together.  

• Stop smoking medicines or NRT: these help to reduce cravings.  
• Find support: support from others can make quitting easier.  
• Use distraction: when a craving hits, distraction can help, such as slow deep breathing, a stress ball or fidget, or a short walk.     
• Avoid triggers: urges are often linked to habits, places or people. Changing routines or where you spend time can help.   
• Make your surroundings smokefree: keep your home and car smokefree and avoid being around others when they’re smoking. 
• Manage stress: rest, do some gentle activity, or talking to someone can help. 

Take it one day at a time. Every day you’re smokefree is good news for your health.

Can vaping help you quit smoking?

Vaping is one of the things you can do to help you quit smoking. However, it’s best used as a short-term step towards becoming smokefree, not as a long-term substitute for smoking. 

A review of multiple stop smoking studies concluded that nicotine vapes help more people to stop smoking than nicotine replacement therapy.  

Stop smoking services or Quitline can talk to you about vaping to quit smoking. If you use a vape to stop smoking, you should aim to stop vaping once you’re confident you won’t return to smoking.

What if I start smoking again?

If you quit and then start smoking again, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Many people need several attempts before stopping for good.  

Use what you’ve learned from last time and make a new plan to quit. Support, stop smoking medicines, and vaping to quit can double your chances of quitting long-term.

How much will I save by quitting smoking?

Smoking costs a lot – by quitting, you’ll have more money for the things that matter most to you.  

If you smoke a pack of 20 cigarettes a day, you could save almost $15,000 a year. 

Use this calculator to see what your savings could be.

Can alternative therapies help me stop smoking?

There’s limited evidence that therapies such as acupuncture, hypnosis, meditation or prayer help people quit smoking. Some people find them helpful, but these shouldn’t replace proven treatments like behavioural support and stop smoking medicines.