Smoking treatments
E-cigarettes
An e-cigarette is an electronic device that delivers nicotine in a vapour. This allows you to inhale nicotine without most of the harmful effects of smoking, as the vapour contains no tar or carbon monoxide.
Research has found that e-cigarettes can help you give up smoking, so you may want to try them rather than the medications listed above. As with other approaches, they're most effective if used with support from an NHS stop smoking service.
There are no e-cigarettes currently available on prescription. But once medicinally licensed e-cigarette products become available, GPs and stop smoking services will be able to prescribe them.
For now, if you want to use an e-cigarette to help you quit, you'll have to buy one. Costs of e-cigarettes can vary, but generally they're much cheaper than cigarettes.
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Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018
Treatment
Find out about the medications that can help if you want to stop smoking, including nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Champix).
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)
The main reason that people smoke is because they are addicted to nicotine. NRT is a medication that provides you with a low level of nicotine, without the tar, carbon monoxide and other poisonous ch
Varenicline (Champix)
Varenicline (brand name Champix) is a medication that works in two ways. It reduces cravings for nicotine like NRT, but it also blocks the rewarding and reinforcing effects of smoking. Evidence sugge
Bupropion (Zyban)
Bupropion (brand name Zyban) is a medication originally used to treat depression , but it has since been found to help people quit smoking. It's not clear exactly how it works, but it's thought to ha
E-cigarettes
An e-cigarette is an electronic device that delivers nicotine in a vapour. This allows you to inhale nicotine without most of the harmful effects of smoking, as the vapour contains no tar or carbon mo
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