A new approach to smoking cessation has revealed that it can help overcome the ‘hand-to-mouth’ habit that makes it more difficult for smokers to quit.

A survey of 353 UK smokers aged 35+ commissioned by nicotine free non-prescription smoking cessation aid NicoBloc, reports that 71% of the UK smokers questioned said they missed having something in their hands, when they were trying to quit. It’s estimated that an average 20 a day smoker will make the ‘hand-to-mouth’ action 73,000 times a year, adding extra psychological pressure on the would-be quitter.

The UK currently has around 10 million smokers  with approximately only 4% successfully quitting in the wake of the 2007 smoking ban in workplaces and public  places.  Of the  353  smokers  questioned for the survey, 78% who had all repeatedly tried and failed to quit reported that the habit of smoking was harder to give up than the actual chemical addiction.

Dr Lynne Dawkins, Senior Psychology Lecturer at the University of East London comments:    “The hand-to-mouth action of smoking through associative learning mechanisms can become a deeply entrenched habit. The habitual act of reaching for a cigarette, coupled with reduced impulse control during a quit attempt, may constitute a strong relapse factor. Any smoking cessation aids which more closely resemble a cigarette could help more smokers to quit.”

NicoBloc is a two-step approach, first helping to break the addiction to nicotine and then helping to give up the physical cigarette and hand-to- mouth    habit.    An alternative to NRT and drug based smoking cessation methods,    NicoBloc is    a fluid    applied to the end of a    cigarette filter immediately before smoking. The fluid works by moistening the cigarette filter, cooling the smoke down as it is drawn through. The tar and nicotine vapour molecules condense back into solid form, sticking to the filter material instead of being passed through to the smoker.

Designed as a gradual reduction method, the amount of nicotine that is inhaled is gradually    reduced over a three week period. During the recommended six-week quit programme, one drop is applied in week one, two drops in week two and three drops from week three onwards. By this time up to 99% of tar and nicotine inhalation is blocked.

A previous two year study for NicoBloc called The Rosen Stop Smoking Programme followed 491 smokers over a six week period and yielded a quit success rate of 58%. Overall reduction in cigarette consumption of those that did not quit reached 77%.

Lita Huckle, 46, from Berkshire, who took part in the Rosen Stop Smoking Programme, finally quit in 1999 with the aid of NicoBloc having repeatedly failed to kick her 20 year 20-a-day habit. Since quitting, Lita has had a whole lifestyle change and is now an avid marathon runner.

Lita comments: “I had previously tried to quit before but found the lure of social smoking got in the way. When I used NicoBloc I didn’t have to quit straight away and it gave me a chance to get used to not smoking so much over a period of time before making the final break.”

NicoBloc is available in independent pharmacies and online with each pack including an instructions DVD, progress chart and a 15ml bottle which provides two weeks supply for a typical 20-a-day smoker. For further information and support visit www.nicobloc.com

Old Habits Die Hard

• A third of the 35 year old plus smokers surveyed revealed that they lie to their partner about their smoking habits.

• Over 42% of those trying to quit revealed that smoking causes arguments with their partner and family.

• And for a fifth of respondents, smoking causes problems with their sex life and relationships.

• Nearly a third of smokers revealed that they started smoking to look cool and fit in with their friends and only one seventh (14%) started smoking because they actually liked the taste. However 89% of those who have tried to quit repeatedly worry about the effect smoking has on their health.

NicoBloc works by cooling the smoke down as it is sucked through the filter. The smoke passes through a moist part of the filter causing a proportion of the tar and nicotine vapour molecules to condense back into solid form and stick to the filter material.

NicoBloc is a drug free alternative to nicotine replacement therapy and contains approved food grade ingredients. It is side-effect free with the main ingredients consisting of water, corn syrup and citric acid