Stoptober: The 28-Day Stop Smoking Challenge
When you fall prey to an addiction, it is not physically possible to quit it all together one day. Although it is not impossible to get rid of it, it is extremely difficult because of your body’s dependency on that foreign material. Nicotine is a psychoactive element that is a highly addictive.

Chain Smokers & Smoking-Cessation Efforts:
For those who consume ten to twenty cigarettes daily or even more, quitting becomes pretty challenging. But being a chain smoker does not mean there is no hope for you anymore. Redemption from this nicotine dependency is possible for everyone determined to do so.
Various techniques are devised to help people in their smoking-cessation journey. Chain smokers do not realise their declining health due to its gradual process, and by the time the side effects become visible, those chemicals have already done the damage.
It is crucial that such people should be motivated and encouraged to quit smoking. Stoptober is also one of the ways to show support and provide strength to these strong-willed individuals. This blog will mention the important details to help you understand it better.
What Is Stoptober:
This is a stop-smoking campaign that The English Department of Health established in late 2012. It is an annual event to encourage smokers to stop smoking permanently by taking up a 28-day challenge at first. It is a stepping-stone in the journey of a smoke-free life, gathering all people with a common purpose under a single banner.
The official start of the Stoptober activity is 1 October, but people can participate on any day of the month and complete the 28-day span. This national activity was launched after several types of research were conducted on human behaviours and psychology. It uses an approach of realistic, time-sensitive goal setting and people’s plans, responses, impulses, motives, and evaluations.
Techniques Proposed For Smoking Cessation:
This campaign is a major event carried out in England each year. Various methods and alternative products are suggested to help make it easy to stop consuming conventional cigarettes. Some of them are mentioned below:
- Use Nicotine-Replacement-Therapies (NRTs) such as nicotine gums, lozenges, patches, inhalers, nasal sprays, etc.
- Use disposable vapes that are 95% safer than regular cigarettes. This estimate was brought forward after many studies done by different institutions and authorities and is also approved by the NHS.
- Use the NHS Quit Smoking app to keep track of your financial savings and health improvement with each passing day. It will help motivate them after observing the day-to-day data and progress summary.
- Connect to others by following various online forums made for this purpose. Such forums and social media groups will send them daily reminders and notifications designed to remind them of their continuous goals and achievements throughout this process.
- Join physical groups or activities that promote their stop-smoking resolution, and stay away from such events or places where others smoke. This way, smokers will be encouraged to remain firm in their decision by looking at their fellows.
- Aside from using alternatives, like disposable vapes, etc., bring a change in your daily routine and diet plan. Increase the intake of such eatables or drinks that will help suppress nicotine cravings, such as vegetables like cucumbers and carrots, milk, yogurt, meat, water, caffeine, etc. Adapt a new hobby or do something different from your regular activities.
Why Follow Stoptober:
The first step of getting out of any addiction is that person’s will to quit it. No matter how much other people try to help them, it will be futile unless they themselve decide to stop. Stoptober is a large-scale campaign that connects smokers and helps them realise that if others can quit, they can too.
It is a social movement that creates a supportive environment for all those struggling to stop smoking. Non-smokers will also help and support smokers to stop smoking. So, participating in the Stoptober Campaign is best for those who find it challenging to quit alone.
Is This Campaign Effective:
The data gathered since its establishment show that the success rate of each successive year is greater than the previous one. It shows that it is quite effective. When more and more people take part in this activity, the chances of smoking cessation increase.
It is also because when fewer people smoke, the individual participating in this activity will face fewer situations where other people smoke. Thus, they will not be tempted by looking at others. Instead, it will invoke constructive enthusiasm in them. So, it will not be inaccurate to say that Stoptober is an effective activity that helps millions of people simultaneously.
Conclusion:
All the evidence gathered for over a decade has shown positive results. The Stoptober campaign has successfully helped millions of people to stop smoking permanently and walk towards a better and healthier life. Some people continue using disposable vapes even if they initially picked them for smoking cessation. But, their health will still improve gradually since vaping is not that harmful.