Health expert shares how to not give up on your New Year resolution on Quitters Day

Friday, January 9, has been dubbed Quitters Day as psychologists have found this is about the length of time that your resolve will last until the strains of winter become too much.

“Something like in the first week of a quit attempt, around 67 per cent of people will have returned to smoking,” said Dr David Crane, founder of Smoke Free, an app which provides advice and encouragement to those looking to leave tobacco behind.

“It shows that it is really difficult to make any kind of behaviour change. Smokers need, on average, 30 attempts to give up for good.”

Dr Crane said that while he specialises in helping people stop smoking, the fundamentals of a change can be the same for any major shift in established behaviours.

People are more likely to try and stop smoking, go to the gym, or make any positive life change on January 1 than on any other day, but there is also a spike in the number of self-improvement attempts on the first of any month, or even a Monday.

The psychological sight of a new diary page can represent turning over a new leaf, but once an addict has just one cigarette, a cheeky McDonald’s, or a one-off pint, it can destabilise the whole mindset.

“Not having that one cigarette is really important to remaining abstinent,” said Dr Crane, a former smoker who said he invented the app to try and help himself.

Despite smokers being no more likely to quit in the new year, he said that January 1 is a “really good time” to make a lifestyle change.

“It’s just another day, but the benefit will be that so many people will be trying to stop,” he said, adding that the shared support that comes with a community is vital.

But whenever you try and start out, it’s important to keep in mind that it will be hard.

A New Year's resolution is often a case of giving up an immediate comfort for a long term gain, and after nine days, the pain of giving up smoking, for example, will be felt more harshly than any health benefits.

There is also a deeper psychological factor in play that humans are extremely habitual and breaking routine can be tough, especially if the vice can help you through a day and is then not replaced with something else.

This is why Dr Crane has suggested substitutes to what you are looking to give up can be important, which could represent nicotine patches or vaping for those looking to stop smoking, but could be replicated for other diet and lifestyle changes.

“It’s important to have something to reduce the cravings,” he said. “They might never disappear but you can get them to the point where they are not overwhelming.

“When you add behaviour support to that,” he said, adding that this could be the Smoke Free app, or accountability from a network, “That’s when there really can be change.”

“You do have to really want to do it.” he said. “But how people think about it can be different.

“We try to ask people, what do you think is going to be the most motivating thing… Is it thinking, ‘ok, I’ve had one cigarette, it’s not the end of the world and I have done well and can keep going…’ or, ‘that was disgusting, I don’t want to do that again’.

“It’s understandable that people would want to go back to smoking. Our job is to try and help people get back on the wagon, to learn from the mistakes, and to make sure that the next attempt will be more likely to succeed.”

As well as recognising and celebrating progress, be it money saved, or health benefits, in the case of sticking to a positive new habit, it is also important to be kind to yourself.

“Missing a session isn't the end of the world,” Scotland’s Commonwealth 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan has shared about those looking to begin running.

“What matters is getting back to it, understanding where you're at, and having the right support to keep moving forward.”