Smoking

Long-term smoking reduces life expectancy by several years and has lots of negative effects on your health. It increases the risk of many types of cancer, in particular lung cancer and malignant tumors in the mouth and throat. It also makes you more prone to infectious diseases like colds, flu, and pneumonia. Over time it can lead to a chronic cough and lung disease.

Smoking also reduces physical fitness and damages your cardiovascular system. That can cause follow-up diseases like heart attack and stroke. It affects your teeth and gums, too. For instance, smokers are more likely to have gum inflammations and periodontitis.

Wounds heal more slowly in people who smoke. They also have an increased risk of complications after an operation. And last but not least, smoking can make the skin age prematurely and impair fertility and potency.

In pregnant women, smoking can affect the unborn child’s development. The harmful substances from smoke can reduce oxygen supply. This is one of the reasons why miscarriages are more common in women who smoke. It also increases the risk of the baby being born prematurely, too small or underweight.

Most people who smoke manage to quit at some point. It often takes several attempts. But there are lots of options for increasing the chances of successfully quitting smoking. They include:

• Advice: For instance from addiction advice centers, support groups, your family doctor, your company physician, and some health authorities. The German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) also offers free online and telephone advice.
• Courses and programs for quitting smoking: These are usually group courses offered by various providers. If the courses are quality assured, health insurance providers cover the costs in part or in full. Many health insurance providers also offer their own programs for quitting smoking. There is also an app-based stopping smoking program that can be prescribed by doctors.
• Nicotine replacement therapy: It can relieve physical withdrawal symptoms and so increase the chances of successfully quitting smoking. The nicotine from the tobacco is replaced with nicotine plasters or chewing gum, gradually weaning your body off the nicotine. Nicotine replacement products are available from pharmacies without a prescription.
• Medication: Medication approved for quitting smoking also increases the chances of successfully stopping smoking. The active ingredients bupropion (Zyban), varenicline (Champix) and cytisine (Asmoken) are currently approved. They have to be prescribed by a doctor.

People who combine non-medicinal treatments like quitting smoking programs or regular telephone counseling with nicotine replacement therapy or medication have the best chances of success. And there is no reason to be disappointed if you do not succeed on your first attempt. That is entirely normal, but most people do succeed at some point.

There is no proof that other treatments like acupuncture, herbal products like St. John’s wort, and hypnosis increase the chances of quitting smoking.

E-cigarettes can help you to give up tobacco. They are less harmful than tobacco smoke. E-cigarettes can be the lesser evil for people who are not (yet) ready to quit smoking. But they are not harmless: The vapor inhaled when smoking e-cigarettes also contains harmful substances and usually nicotine, too.

Many people who manage to quit smoking tobacco by using e-cigarettes continue to “vape” for a long time. That is why it's advisable for people who want to completely quit nicotine and replacements to choose other methods.

Tobacco heaters have also been available for a number of years. They heat the tobacco to lower temperatures instead of burning it. Experts suppose that tobacco heaters are more harmful than e-cigarettes but less harmful than cigarettes. They are not suitable for giving up nicotine or tobacco.

Quitting smoking also has a lot of advantages in daily life. You can already smell and taste better within a short time and your lung function also improves after just a few weeks. What is more, the often unpleasant smell for others also disappears.

Many people worry that they will put on weight if they quit smoking. Many people do actually put on a little weight, especially in the first year. The reason is not just that they eat or snack more – their metabolism also changes. Smoking also suppresses hunger.

But whether you put weight on or not is entirely individual. Some ex-smokers don't put on any weight at all or even lose weight, while others put on several pounds. Gaining a little weight is definitely better for your health than smoking – and your metabolism and weight might also return to normal over time.

When people are ill or need medical advice, they usually go to see their family doctor first. In our topic "Health care in Germany" you can read about how to find the right doctor – and our list of questions can help you to prepare for your appointment.