Will is crucial Almost every second smoker wants to keep his finger on cigarettes

Almost every second smoker wants to stop
Every year, around 7 million people die from smoking worldwide. Although the health risks are known, in this country, about every third person takes to the cigarette. Almost half of them want to give up smoking, as a recent survey shows. Expert tips can help to realize the good intention.

Smoking favors many serious diseases
Smoking is dangerous for your health. Among other things, tobacco use benefits twelve types of cancer such as lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and colon cancer, cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke, diabetes, atherosclerosis (arteriosclerosis) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD (smoker's lung). According to scientific research, it is possible to live many years longer by quitting smoking. Almost half of German smokers are planning to keep their fingers off cigarettes.

About 28 percent of Germans smoke. However, according to a recent poll, almost one in two plans to quit smoking. (Image: Dan Race / fotolia.com)

Almost every second smoker is enough
A representative opinion poll on behalf of the ABDA - Federal Association of German Pharmacists Associations, has shown that 44 percent of smokers plan to say goodbye to the stinking.

According to a statement, young women are ahead: 53 percent of women want to quit smoking, but only 37 percent of men.

The younger a smoker is, the more likely they are to quit smoking: 49 percent of people under the age of 29, but only 41 percent of over-65s want to keep their fingers off cigarettes.

For the results, the infas Institute for Applied Social Sciences interviewed 3,415 Germans aged 16 years and over.

Tips to stop
But how do they manage to stop?

For the exit from the addiction you need in any case a firm will.

ABDA President Friedemann Schmidt also sees it this way: "The will is crucial to quit smoking."

He added: "But especially in the first time many need support, so as not to relapse again. The local pharmacies are involved in prevention and also help with the permanent smoking cessation. "

Experts recommend looking for a stress-free time to stop. In case of problems with the partner or in the job, the waiver of cigarettes is more difficult.

It also makes sense to inform friends and relatives and, if necessary, ask them not to smoke in their presence.

In general, it is advised to stop completely, because each additional cigarette stimulates the addictive memory again. Scientific research has also shown that cold withdrawal is the best way to stop smoking.

Although nicotine patches can facilitate the transition, they are not a permanent solution because they keep the ex-smoker physically dependent.

According to studies, e-cigarettes do not help smokers quit.

In Hessen is smoked least
According to the ABDA, about 28 percent of Germans smoke, with only 11 percent of people over 65 years smoking. In the age group of 16 to 29 years, however, it is 38 percent.

In this age group, however, the occasional smoking, such as at parties, more common than the elderly.

In North Rhine-Westphalia is the most smoke. There smoke 33 percent of people over 16 years. 41 percent want to stop. There are only a few smokers in Hesse, where only 21 percent of the population smoke. 60 percent of them plan to quit smoking. (Ad)