For patients · Reading time 10 minutes · Version 1.0 · Translation of the German page, medically reviewed on 11 October 2026 · the German version is authoritative · DeutschEnglishУкраїнськаالعربية
Stopping smoking: what it brings, what really helps, and your plan
Most smokers want to stop, and most have already tried. What is missing is rarely the will, but the right help and a plan. Here you will find how many years stopping brings, how dependent you are, what each aid achieves in numbers, from counselling to the e-cigarette, and a plan that counts days, money and the recovery of your body.
The essentials in three sentences
- Stopping at 40 brings about nine years of life, at 60 still three. It is never too late, and earlier is better.
- Alone, 3 to 5 out of 100 succeed. With counselling and the right product that doubles to triples. Nicotine dependence is an illness, not a weakness.
- A date, three reasons, the triggers with replacements and a chosen aid: that is the plan. A slip is not a relapse.
1
When to see us first
Eight signs that should be looked at in smokers. You may still start stopping right away.
Tick whatever applies. If nothing applies, leave everything blank.
No warning sign
Then nothing stands in the way of stopping. For heavy smokers from 50 there is a lung cancer screening in Germany with a low-dose CT; we are qualified to advise on it and will tell you whether you qualify.
Your ticks are neither stored nor sent anywhere.
2
What it brings, in years and in euros
Set your age. The years of life come from two large long-term studies, the money from your pack.
About 6 years of life gained
+6
Sechs Jahre, die sonst fehlen. Dazu weniger Infarkte schon im ersten Jahr.
What smoking costs
205 €
a month
2,465 €
a year
24,654 €
in ten years
Years of life after Doll 2004 and Jha 2013, averages over many people; for you a direction. The money is exact. Both stay on your device.
3
How dependent am I?
The test the practice uses too. It says which help suits you.
Six questions, the Fagerström test. Your answers are neither stored nor sent.
1. How soon after waking do you smoke your first cigarette?
2. Do you find it hard not to smoke where it is forbidden?
3. Which cigarette would you least like to give up?
4. How many cigarettes do you smoke a day?
5. Do you smoke more in the first hours after waking than during the rest of the day?
6. Do you smoke even when you are so ill that you stay in bed?
The score says how loudly the body calls for nicotine, not how hard it will be for you. Habit and surroundings count too. From five points, products are almost always worthwhile.
4
What helps, in numbers
Additional non-smokers out of 100 after at least six months, from the Cochrane network analysis of 2023 with 319 studies. Then the over-the-counter products as per the package leaflet.
Alone, without help
no productStarting point. About 3 to 5 out of 100 manage a year. That is the starting point on which everything else builds. It works, but the chances are small.
Brief advice from a doctor
no product2 out of 100 additionally smoke-free. Three minutes in the consulting room bring one to three more. More time and a follow-up bring a little more. That is why we ask, even if you have come about something else.
Nicotine patch alone
over the counter2 out of 100 additionally smoke-free. A steady baseline that takes the edge off withdrawal. On its own a small gain.
Gum, lozenge or spray alone
over the counter3 out of 100 additionally smoke-free. Fast for cravings. Most people take too little; the package leaflet allows more than you think.
Patch plus a fast product
over the counter6 out of 100 additionally smoke-free. The combination is the best over-the-counter help and almost as good as the tablets. Patch for the day, gum or spray for the moment.
Bupropion
on prescription3 out of 100 additionally smoke-free. An antidepressant that dampens craving. Not with seizures or eating disorders. Today mostly second choice.
Cytisine
on prescription7 out of 100 additionally smoke-free. A plant substance from laburnum, used for decades in Eastern Europe, recently prescribable in Germany, usually on a private prescription. 25 days, inexpensive, well tolerated.
Varenicline
on prescription8 out of 100 additionally smoke-free. Occupies the nicotine docking sites: less craving, and the cigarette tastes of nothing. Twelve weeks, start a week before the stop date. Nausea common at first, better with food.
E-cigarette with nicotine
over the counter8 out of 100 additionally smoke-free. As effective as varenicline if it replaces the cigarette completely. Far fewer harmful substances than smoke, but no zero risk, and the long-term effects are not known. Anyone who takes it plans its end from the start. Not for people who do not smoke.
All figures are "in addition to what the comparison group achieved", after at least six months. The comparison groups mostly received counselling and a dummy medicine. Counselling on top improves every line: the more contacts, the better.
As per the package leaflet
Nicotine patch
With more than 20 cigarettes a day start with the highest strength, otherwise with the middle one. A new patch every morning on dry, hairless skin, change the site daily. Taper off over eight to twelve weeks.
Vivid dreams or disturbed sleep: take the patch off in the evening. Redness of the skin is normal, itching at the same spot is not. Not in pregnancy without asking.
Nicotine gum
Up to 20 cigarettes a day 2 mg, above that 4 mg. Chew slowly until it tingles, then park it in the cheek; after half a minute chew again, for about 30 minutes. Usually 8 to 12 pieces a day, maximum as in the package leaflet. After three months gradually less.
Fast chewing causes hiccups and heartburn. Leave out coffee and juice a quarter of an hour before, they slow the uptake. With dentures, a lozenge is better.
Nicotine mouth spray
One to two sprays for a craving, maximum per hour and per day as in the package leaflet. Works in about a minute, the fastest product.
Do not inhale while spraying, do not swallow. Burning in the mouth is common at first.
Varenicline, cytisine, bupropion
Prescription only. Start before the stop date; duration and schedule are on the prescription and in the package leaflet; we discuss them at the appointment.
For people with severe dependence, German statutory insurers can cover these medicines together with a cessation programme. That depends on the degree of dependence and is checked case by case; cytisine is usually a private prescription.
Adult dosing according to the package leaflets of over-the-counter packs in Germany. The leaflet in your hand takes precedence; with pre-existing conditions, in pregnancy or with other medicines, ask at the pharmacy or at the practice first.
5
Your stop-smoking plan
Date, reasons, triggers with replacements, help. From the stop date the plan counts days, money and your body clock. For printing, for the fridge.
My stop date: ____________
My three reasons
My triggers, and what I do instead
Tick what applies to you. The replacement appears below and on the printout.
My help
Stop-smoking plan from theknowledger.academy/en/patienten/rauchstopp. German quitline 0800 8 31 31 31, free of charge.
Your plan stays on this device. It is not sent anywhere, and nobody but you sees it. If you clear your browser history, it is gone: print it and put it on the fridge.
6
What happens in the first weeks
Craving, withdrawal, weight, slips, and why many attempts are normal.
1The craving
Comes in waves, each lasts three to five minutes, then it ebbs away, whether you smoke or not. The four answers: delay, breathe deeply, drink water, do something else. After two weeks the waves become rarer, after three months they are the exception.
2The first three days
Irritability, restlessness, poor sleep, no concentration, hunger. That is nicotine withdrawal, not a flaw of character, and that is exactly what patches and gum are for. After a week the body is nicotine-free; what remains after that is habit.
3The weight
On average four to five kilos in the first year: 16 out of 100 lose weight, 37 gain less than five kilos, 34 five to ten, 13 more than ten. Nicotine replacement and exercise slow that down. And: to reach the heart risk of smoking you would have to gain about 40 kilos.
4The slip
One cigarette after three weeks is a slip, not a relapse. It becomes a relapse when you say "it does not matter now anyway". Instead: what was the trigger, what is missing from the plan? And carry on the same day.
5The many attempts
Most people need several attempts; a Canadian long-term study came to 6 to 30 depending on the calculation. Every attempt is practice. Anyone who managed three weeks last time now knows what was missing in week four.
7
What you can do yourself
Ordered by evidence.
Set a day, within the next two weeks
Well establishedNot "some time", not "when things calm down". A date that is in the calendar, without a party and without an exam that week. Until then get the products, fill in the plan, tell people.
Stop completely, do not cut down
Well establishedAnyone who cuts down to five a day inhales each of them more deeply. Cutting down only makes sense as the road to a fixed stop date, with nicotine replacement. The stop date itself is a clean cut.
Combine help
Well establishedProduct plus counselling beats either alone. Counselling means: someone asks how it is going, in week one, two and four. That can be the practice, the quitline or the app.
Say it
Some studies, small effectPartner, colleagues, children. Those who know do not offer a cigarette and ask how it is going. Partners who smoke: either stop together, or outside and never in the flat.
Exercise
Some studies, small effectTen minutes of brisk walking measurably lower acute craving in studies and slow weight gain. The page "Exercise and food" has the plan.
A smoke-free home
Some studies, small effectAshtrays, lighters, supplies out, wash the curtains, clean the car. The smell is a trigger you can abolish.
Make the money visible
Few, small studiesThe daily amount into a jar or a separate account. After a month buy something with it that you would not otherwise allow yourself. The counter below keeps score.
8
From other traditions, from advertising, and a personal note
Further reading. Each item says how well it is supported by Western studies. Also where we offer it ourselves.
Hypnotherapy
Europe, USA
A personal note: our practice offers hypnotherapy for stopping smoking. The evidence for it is nevertheless weak: the Cochrane review of 2019 found no certain advantage over counselling, the studies are small and prone to bias. Anyone who likes it takes it as an addition to products and plan, not as a substitute.
Acupuncture, acupressure, laser
China
A short-term effect in some studies, no reliable one after six months. Less effective than nicotine replacement. Harmless, but not the treatment.
E-cigarette without nicotine
Industry
The ritual without the active substance: in studies about one additional non-smoker per 100, with great uncertainty. If an e-cigarette, then with nicotine and with a plan for stopping it.
Nicotine pouches, snus
Scandinavia
Nicotine without smoke; in Germany banned as tobacco pouches, nicotine pouches without tobacco in a grey area. Hardly studied for stopping smoking; the dependence remains.
Stopping with St John's wort, lobelia, "quitting teas"
Herbalism
No robust studies. Lobelia is poisonous and not licensed in Germany. St John's wort interacts with many medicines.
Allen Carr method
United Kingdom
The book and the seminar: in two recent studies as effective as a counselling service, in one better. Nothing mysterious, but reframing the craving. Sensible as an addition; products alongside remain allowed, even if the book rejects them.
9
Quick check: what will you take away?
Five questions for anyone who likes. No marks.
1. How long does a wave of craving last if you do not smoke?
2. What is the best over-the-counter help?
3. Stopping at 45 brings on average how many years of life?
4. One cigarette after three smoke-free weeks. What is that?
5. How much do people gain on average in the first year after stopping?
No marks, no time pressure. Your progress is kept on this device only.
What this page cannot do
It is for adults and does not replace counselling. Prescription medicines, their dose and whether German statutory insurance covers them we discuss at the practice. Take nicotine replacement according to the package leaflet in your hand. In pregnancy: stop without products first, and discuss any product with us beforehand. The numbers "out of 100" are averages from studies; for you personally they are a direction. This page is a translation of the German original, which is the medically reviewed version; where the two differ, the German text applies.
Version 1.0 · Translation of the German page, medically reviewed on 11 October 2026 · the German version is authoritative
Reviewed by Stefan Höhne, Facharzt für Allgemeinmedizin. Numbers, doses and emergency numbers are identical to the German version and checked automatically. If anything is unclear, the German text applies.
Sources: Doll and colleagues, BMJ 2004 (British doctors, 50 years); Jha and colleagues, NEJM 2013 (gain by age); Lindson and colleagues, Cochrane 2023 (network analysis of all products and e-cigarettes, 319 studies); Stead and colleagues, Cochrane 2013 (advice from doctors); Heatherton and colleagues 1991 (Fagerström test); Aubin and colleagues, BMJ 2012 (weight); Chaiton and colleagues, BMJ Open 2016 (number of attempts); Barnes and colleagues, Cochrane 2019 (hypnotherapy); White and colleagues, Cochrane 2014 (acupuncture); WHO and US Surgeon General (body clock). Medically responsible: Stefan Höhne, specialist in general practice (Facharzt für Allgemeinmedizin). This page is independent: no sponsor, no advertising, no brand names. The practice offers hypnotherapy for stopping smoking; that is stated at the point on hypnotherapy. All patient information (German)