Bohaterów Getta Warszawskiego 16/2, 70-303 Szczecin
Opening hours:Mon - Sun: 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
The price includes:
Quitting smoking rarely works the first time because nicotine changes the way the brain works. It stimulates nicotinic receptors there and increases the release of dopamine, and with daily smoking the brain gets used to its constant presence. The World Health Organization classifies nicotine dependence, also called nicotine addiction, as a disease and describes it in ICD-10 under code F17.2 and in ICD-11 under code 6C4A.2.
Most people go back to smoking at the very beginning. In a review of studies of smokers who tried to quit without any help, most relapses happened within the first 8 days, and after six months or a year only 3 to 5 percent of them were still not smoking. The urge to smoke also comes back long after withdrawal symptoms have passed, because situations in which the patient smoked for years, such as coffee, a break at work or meeting friends who smoke, trigger a craving on their own.
Some changes begin straight away. According to the WHO, after just 20 minutes without a cigarette the heart rate and blood pressure drop, and 5 to 15 years after quitting the risk of stroke falls to that of a non-smoker. According to the WHO, a person who stops smoking at around the age of 30 gains almost 10 years of life.
Quitting smoking also eases the pressure on the household budget. According to a notice from the Minister of Finance, the weighted average retail price of cigarettes in 2025 was about PLN 20.75 a pack. In a home where two people smoke a pack a day each, that comes to about PLN 1,262 a month and more than PLN 15,000 a year.
Patients in Szczecin do not have to quit alone. If the first days are harder than expected, they can arrange an earlier medical appointment and, with the treatment plan, a session in the app, without travelling from Police or Stargard.
The first step is a medical consultation at ul. Bohaterów Getta Warszawskiego 16/2 or by video in the Nasz Gabinet app. No referral is needed, and our Szczecin clinic is open daily from 8:00 to 20:00. We also treat residents of Police, Stargard, Goleniów and Świnoujście through the app if they prefer not to travel to central Szczecin.
At the appointment, we ask how many cigarettes the patient smokes a day, what conditions they have and what medicines they take regularly. Based on this, the doctor decides whether to recommend a stop-smoking medicine and, if so, which one.
The consultation is purchased in the app as the Anti-Nicotine Course for PLN 350, including an e-prescription for the selected medicine, or as part of the Anti-Nicotine Treatment Plan for PLN 2499. The plan also includes prescriptions for 3 months of treatment and 10 addiction therapy sessions. With both options, patients buy the medicine separately at a pharmacy.
Many patients have tried to quit several times, so we ask about each attempt separately. We want to know which medicine the patient took then and at what dose, for how many days, when they smoked their first cigarette after the break and in what situation.
We compare the answers with the recommendations of the manufacturer of the medicine the patient used. A course of NiQuitin Przezroczysty patches usually starts at 21 mg, or at 14 mg for people who smoke no more than 10 cigarettes a day. The manufacturer intends Nicorette Classic Gum 4 mg for people who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day or who did not stop smoking while using 2 mg gum. With Desmoxan, the patient must stop smoking by day 5 of cytisine treatment at the latest, so anyone who kept smoking throughout the first week was not taking the medicine as recommended.
If the doctor recommends medication, patients receive instructions specifying the medicine, dose, date of the last cigarette and what will be done differently from their previous attempt. People also dependent on alcohol or other substances can receive addiction therapy in Szczecin.
Cytisine, recently also called cytisinicline, is the active substance in Desmoxan, Tabex and Recigar. A tablet or capsule contains 1.5 mg of it. It binds to the same receptors in the brain as nicotine but stimulates them more weakly, so it reduces cravings and makes a cigarette smoked during treatment less enjoyable. Varenicline, the active substance in Champix, in 0.5 and 1 mg tablets, works on the same principle.
Nicotine replacement therapy supplies nicotine alone, without the tar and carbon monoxide from smoke. NiQuitin and Nicorette Invisipatch patches release nicotine throughout the day, and it is absorbed through the skin. NiQuitin comes in strengths of 7, 14 and 21 mg per 24 hours, and Nicorette Invisipatch in strengths of 10, 15 and 25 mg per 16 hours. Nicorette Classic Gum, Nicorette Spray and NiQuitin MINI lozenges deliver nicotine through the lining of the mouth whenever the patient feels like smoking. The gum contains 2 or 4 mg of nicotine, one spray 1 mg, and a lozenge 1.5 mg, 2 mg or 4 mg. Bupropion, the active substance in Zyban, is an antidepressant in 150 mg prolonged-release tablets. It blocks the reuptake of noradrenaline and dopamine, which means these substances act for longer in the brain.
Cochrane, an independent scientific organisation, gathers the results of studies on a given medicine. It checks by what percentage the number of people not smoking after at least six months is higher in the treated group than in a group given placebo or no medicine. In 133 studies involving 64,640 people, nicotine in any form increased the number of non-smokers by 55 percent, patches by 64 percent, gum by 49 percent and lozenges by 52 percent.
In 4 studies involving 4,623 people, cytisine increased the number of non-smokers by 30 percent, and in 41 studies varenicline more than doubled it. In 2 studies that compared the two medicines directly, more people treated with varenicline quit, but the result was too uncertain to decide which medicine works better. In 45 studies, bupropion increased the number of non-smokers by 64 percent, and in head-to-head comparisons it worked about as well as nicotine and less well than varenicline.
The patient can buy nicotine in all its forms and most cytisine products at a pharmacy without a prescription. Champix and Zyban require a prescription, but in September 2026 we did not find Champix in the pharmacies we checked, and the marketing authorisation for Zyban expired in December 2023.
In online pharmacies in September 2026, a pack of cytisine for the whole 25 days cost about PLN 40 to 78, and 24-hour patches for a 10-week course about PLN 606 to 930. The patient paid PLN 78 to 100 for 105 pieces of 4 mg gum and PLN 62 to 85 for a spray with 150 doses. None of these medicines is reimbursed by the NFZ, Poland's National Health Fund.
Patients begin by discussing previous quit attempts with the addiction therapist. They examine when and why they smoked and whether they returned to cigarettes in similar circumstances, such as while drinking alcohol or after an argument. They also discuss their own reasons for wanting to stop this time. One approach is motivational interviewing, a conversation that helps patients consider their doubts. The treatment plan includes 10 such sessions, all held by video in the Nasz Gabinet app.
Before the quit date, from which the patient stops smoking completely, the therapist helps prepare a plan for cravings. The date must fit the medication schedule; with cytisine, it must be no later than day 5. Patients change routines associated with cigarettes and practise other ways to manage stress and emotions. When needed, they also work on lifestyle changes and concerns about weight gain. If someone at home continues smoking, patients can discuss how to manage daily life alongside that person.
Later in therapy, patients maintain new habits and develop a sense of being non-smokers. With the therapist, they prepare for a lapse: what to do if they smoke despite their efforts, and how to return immediately to not smoking. The doctor assesses withdrawal symptoms, selects nicotine replacement therapy or cytisine, and provides support particularly during the first smoke-free period. Follow-up dates are arranged individually.
The Nasz Gabinet app sends a reminder for every dose of cytisine or nicotine set out in the treatment plan, so that the patient takes the medicine without gaps until the end of treatment. The app does not change the medicine, the dose or the times for taking it. The doctor does that at an appointment, which the patient books in the app, including online.
From the quit date, the app shows smoke-free days and money not spent on cigarettes. Patients can also invite someone they trust, such as a partner quitting at the same time. Purchasing the Anti-Nicotine Course or Anti-Nicotine Treatment Plan gives access to the programme in the app. Contact Nasz Gabinet in Szczecin if you need help with purchasing.
After the last cigarette, nicotine withdrawal symptoms include anger, anxiety, low mood, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia and restlessness. A review of tobacco withdrawal research found that they are strongest in the first week and last 2–4 weeks. Stop-smoking medication eases these symptoms, while the therapist included in the treatment plan helps patients prepare for situations with the strongest cravings. Patients whose mood deteriorates markedly should tell the doctor; suicidal thoughts require immediate medical help.
British researchers collected data on every participant in experiments in which smokers either did brief physical exercise or stayed at rest. Participants in these experiments were temporarily not smoking and not taking any medicines. After exercise, including moderate exercise, participants rated their urge to smoke as clearly weaker than people who stayed still. In all the studies included, the urge to smoke was weaker after exercise, and the authors considered these results strong evidence that physical activity reduces cravings in the short term.
So physical activity helps you get through a moment of craving, but it does not replace treatment. A review covered 24 studies involving 7,279 adults. In 21 studies involving 6,607 people, support to quit combined with exercise was compared with support without exercise. No clear increase was found in the proportion of people who quit for at least six months. The authors rate the certainty of this result as low and do not rule out a small benefit.
For a patient whose cravings come at regular times, for example after lunch or after getting home from work, we suggest a brisk walk or climbing the stairs at those times instead of sitting down for a break. A patient with heart disease agrees with the doctor what level of exercise is safe for them.
American researchers analysed data on 12,067 people followed in the Framingham Study from 1971 to 2003. The chance that a participant was still smoking was 67 percent lower when their spouse had quit, 36 percent lower when a friend had quit, and 25 percent lower when a brother or sister had. This was an observational study, so it shows that people close to each other often quit around the same time, but it does not prove that one person's decision causes the other's.
A summary of 14 studies involving 3,370 people looked at programmes that taught partners, friends or co-workers how to support someone quitting smoking. After six months and after a year, the proportion of non-smokers did not differ clearly from that in groups without the programme, and in most studies that measured support from people close to the participant, the programmes did not increase it.
At the appointment, we ask who smokes at home and where. Together with the patient, we agree what they will ask the people they live with during treatment:
A partner who also wants to quit books their own appointment. We choose the medicine and dose for each person's health separately, so a couple quitting at the same time do not always take the same medicine.
Your treatment is led by a doctor specialising in addiction medicine together with certified addiction therapists. Meet our team.
Medical doctor, addiction treatment specialist
Lek. med. Bogdan Bas has specialised in addiction treatment for over 15 years, combining medicine and psychotherapy into a modern treatment method.
Doctor of psychology, certified addiction therapist
Graduate of the University of Wrocław.
Psychologist, certified addiction psychotherapy specialist
Graduate of SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Book your first appointment
A 3-month treatment plan for PLN 499: a medical interview in the chat, an e-prescription for the medicine and reminders for every tablet in the app. Consultations with a psychologist are paid separately.
