8 Common Smoking Triggers you need to avoid when quitting

Quit Victoria is taking a new approach in their latest anti-smoking campaign. Instead of trying to scare smokers into quitting, they are encouraging smokers to identify their particular smoking triggers. Research suggests this could be the key to quitting for some smokers.

The Triggers campaign features an animated video encouraging smokers to think about their particular smoking triggers and how developing a better understanding of these influences could be the key to quitting for good.

While everyone is different, new research from the Cancer Council Victoria has identified 8 of the most common smoking triggers:

1. Being around friends who smoke (80%)
2. Stress (78%)
3. Parties/nights out (76%)
4. After eating a meal (69%)
5. Work breaks (60%)
6. Coffee (45%)
7. Driving (41%)
8. Telephone calls (23%)

Cancer Council Victoria found that women were more likely than men to identify stress and phone calls as a smoking trigger. But men were more likely than women to have the urge to smoke during work breaks.

Quit Victoria Acting Director, Craig Sinclair, said many smokers struggled to stay quit in the face of common triggers like stress or socialising with friends. “Research has shown that most smokers don’t want to smoke but lack the confidence, self-awareness and skills to quit successfully.”

According to the Cancer Council Victoria, your average smoker will try to quit eight times before finally succeeding.

Cancer Council Victoria CEO, Todd Harper’s advice to smokers is to think about your past quit attempts and the triggers that may have tripped you up. “Was it stress, socialising on a night out or having coffee with friends? Before you try again, take a moment to think about what you could do to avoid smoking in these types of situations.”

The one thing the Triggers campaign won’t do is signaling an end to the negative anti-smoking ads were seen on TV, billboards and campaign posters.

“Research has shown that graphic and negative emotion ads have been influential in driving down smoking rates and they will continue to feature in future campaigns,” Mr Sinclair said.

“However, we also know that smokers need to be supported and positively encouraged in their efforts to quit. This campaign does just that.”