The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in 2010 more than 45 million adults smoked cigarettes—even though 69 percent of those people wanted to quit and 52 percent actually tried quitting. It’s not surprising that they weren’t successful: Nicotine, the most abundant psychoactive drug in cigarettes, is highly addictive.

In addition to nicotine, cigarette smoke contains 69 other chemicals proven to cause cancer.  The Surgeon General concludes that “any exposure to tobacco smoke—even an occasional cigarette or exposure to secondhand smoke—is harmful; damage from tobacco smoke is immediate; smoking longer means more damage.” Based on the scientific evidence, the Surgeon General reports that “the only proven strategy for reducing the risk of tobacco-related disease and death is to never smoke, and if you do smoke to quit.”

But as anyone who has tried it can tell you, quitting is not easy. Which is why smokers will be heartened to hear about the results of a May 2012 study published in Nicotine Tobacco Research. This study found a very simple step smokers can take to reduce nicotine cravings: Eat more fruits and vegetables. 

For the study, the researchers randomly selected 1,000 smokers over the age of 25 and evaluated their fruit and vegetable intake for 14 months. The findings? Study participants who ate the most fruits and vegetables smoked fewer cigarettes per day, lasted longer between cigarettes and scored lower on the Nicotine Dependence Scale. The smokers who ate the most fruits and vegetables were more than three times more likely to successfully refrain from smoking for at least 30 days at the 14 month follow-up compared to the smokers who ate fewer fruits and vegetables.  

In addition to eating more fruits and vegetables, smokers who want to quit should consider trying hypnosis or acupuncture. A variety of other smoking cessation tools are also available. Whatever method you try, quitting smoking for good is probably the single most important step you can take for your health.