In July 2018, a law to partially revise the Health Promotion Act was enacted, and it has been fully enforced since April 1, 2020. With this law, efforts to prevent unwanted secondhand smoke have shifted from manners to rules.
At our clinic, we provide a smoking cessation clinic to help you quit smoking smoothly and without difficulty. With a doctor’s prescription, you can quit smoking comfortably. Treatment is covered by insurance under a standard schedule of three months (12 weeks).
The main reason why people cannot quit smoking is nicotine, an addictive substance contained in tobacco. In smoking cessation therapy, nicotine dependence is treated with oral and topical medications, which help prevent irritability and withdrawal symptoms when you are not smoking. This makes it possible to quit smoking smoothly and comfortably.
Doctors will support your smoking cessation.
At the smoking cessation clinic, the doctor will carefully review your smoking history, prescribe appropriate cessation aids, and monitor your progress. Even if withdrawal symptoms occur during treatment, you can consult the doctor during visits, which makes it easier to continue.
Smoking cessation is covered by health insurance.
Since nicotine dependence has come to be recognized as a disease, smoking cessation treatment has been covered by health insurance since April 2006, provided certain conditions are met.
The four conditions are:
Five consultations over three months (12 weeks).
The standard course of smoking cessation treatment lasts three months (12 weeks), during which you will have five consultations.
The most important point during treatment is not to discontinue without consulting your doctor. Some people stop visiting after the first consultation, thinking they can quit on their own, but studies show their success rate is low.
Why does stopping consultations lead to failure?
Because you no longer receive medical advice and prescriptions. This shows just how difficult it is to quit smoking alone.
There are two types of smoking cessation aids: patches (nicotine patches) and oral medication (Champix®). Both are covered by health insurance.
1. Nicotine patch (Nicotinell TTS)
When you stop smoking, the nicotine concentration in your body drops suddenly, which causes withdrawal symptoms. This patch delivers nicotine through the skin to relieve these symptoms. By applying a nicotine patch once a day, you can take in nicotine without smoking, maintain a lower but steady nicotine level compared to smoking, and ease withdrawal symptoms. Following the treatment schedule, the amount of nicotine is gradually reduced to achieve complete smoking cessation.
2. Oral medication (Champix®)
The main active ingredient, varenicline tartrate, helps reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms (such as irritability and restlessness) and cravings for cigarettes. It also makes smoking less enjoyable.
Please note: Champix® cannot be purchased at pharmacies and requires a medical consultation. However, due to the ongoing shipment suspension by Pfizer, supply has not resumed, and most medical institutions are currently unable to prescribe it.
Treatment program
The medication-based treatment program consists of five consultations over a 12-week period. At each consultation, you will receive various advice, which increases the likelihood of successful smoking cessation.
With the use of the smoking cessation clinic, the success rate* is 70–80%. Those who have more consultations are more successful in quitting smoking.
A person who, at the time of completion of the fifth treatment, has quit smoking, has continued not smoking even a single cigarette for at least four weeks prior to the fifth session, and whose exhaled carbon monoxide concentration values at the fourth and fifth treatments were at a non-smoker level (less than 8 ppm).
A total of five consultations over three months (12 weeks) is required. Since this treatment is covered by insurance, the cost is relatively low. The smoking cessation success rate is reported to be about 70%.
*For those wishing to attend the smoking cessation clinic, please consult our clinic first.
