You can try chewing gum, nicotine patches, or going cold turkey; there’s a range of tactics to try and quit smoking.
A new study suggests that smelling pleasant odours can help, like peppermint, apples, and chocolate.
Dr Michael Savette, who led the study said,
“Using pleasant odours to disrupt smoking routines would offer a distinct and novel method for reducing cravings, and our results to this end are promising.”
Researchers at the University of Pittsburg studied 232 smokers who smelled and rated a number of different pleasant odours, as well as unpleasant odours. They were asked then to light a cigarette and hold it but not smoke it. After that test, they would rate their urge to smoke on a scale of 1 to 100.
Participants then smelled either the scent they had rated most pleasurable, the scent of tobacco or no scent, before rating their urge to smoke again.
Results revealed that regardless of what odour they smelled, all participants had a decreased urge to smoke after smelling the scent. However, those who smelled the pleasant odours had a significantly lower urge to smoke than those who smelled the tobacco or blank smell.
So if nothing else is working try smelling something you find pleasant, may it be chocolate or something else.
