A month feels a very long time when you’re trying to give something up. Crikey, if you’re trying to give up cigarettes then even a weekend seems an eternity. And now that October is upon us, scores of smokers are going cold turkey on the fags for a 28 day stint. It’s all part of the NHS’s annual ‘Stoptober’ stop-smoking campaign; the logic being that if you can kick the cigs for a month then you can kick them for good. A nice idea, but does it really help?
Everyone’s heard that it takes 28 days to make or change a habit. Granted, some of us have been told that it’s 21 days; but the general ‘if you can stick it out for three-four weeks’ rule has long been accepted wisdom of counsellors, agony aunts and your mates down the pub. But just know this: the idea that it takes a month to change your ways is a load of tosh. For actual science says that changing any routine – be it smoking or otherwise usually takes much longer than 28 days. Read more