Why “Cutting Back” On Cigarettes Is A Waste of Time

In the cycle of a smoker’s life, they will usually have more than one attempt at quitting. Only a small percentage – sometimes given as low as 15% – of smokers actually manage to kick the habit on their first attempt, and the norm is three to five attempts before finally managing to banish the demon cigarettes.

To some, knowing the difficulty involved in quitting smoking, there is the natural conclusion that to prepare yourself you should cut down on the number of cigarettes you consume. So let’s be clear: cutting back on cigarettes does not work, does not have any particular health benefits and could actually decrease your chances of quitting altogether in the future. Here’s why:

– You’re battling for little reward.

When you cut back, you will experience some of the withdrawal symptoms involved in quitting smoking. If you’re going to be going through withdrawal, what’s the point of stringing the process out? Quit altogether first, and you only have to go through it once, rather than twice; when you ‘cut back’ and when you stop altogether.

– If you find cutting back unpleasant because of the withdrawal, you’re less likely to be willing to quit altogether.

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. If you know how unpleasant withdrawal can feel, you’re going to be less likely to quit altogether and go through that withdrawal all over again.

– You’re not improving your health.

Smoking at all is damaging to health, so for as long as you continue to smoke on a daily basis, your health is going to suffer – no matter how many cigarettes you smoke.