Stick With it

Using the Nicotine Patch to Quit Smoking
Smoking cigarettes is a very dangerous habit. Long gone are the days when smoking was cool and practically everyone smoked. Today we are all too aware of the damages cigarette smoking causes. If you are smoking now, chances are you would like to quit. Maybe you have even tried to quit, but the cigarettes have too strong a hold on you. Well today we have new aids to help you quit smoking that can actually make the process more bearable to get you to finally quit for good. One of the easiest to get and use is the nicotine patch.

What is NRT?
When you quit smoking, your body will go through withdrawal symptoms from the absence of nicotine. One way to ease some of the symptoms is to use a nicotine replacement therapy, or NRT, program. There are a few different NRTs available: nicotine gum, lozenges, nasal sprays, inhalers and the nicotine patch. However, not all of these products are available over-the-counter, while at least one brand of the patch is. The nicotine in the patch, unlike other NRT products, is delivered trasnsdermally, or through the skin, and in a consistent dose throughout the day. It’s worn on the skin very much like a bandage and usually for about a 24 hour period.

How Can a NRT Help Me Quit Smoking?
Any NRT is designed to assist you when you decide to quit. You should not wear the patch and smoke cigarettes at the same time. Once you have put the cigarettes down for good, the NRT will still deliver the nicotine to the bloodstream, but without all the other 4,000 chemicals contained in the tobacco of your cigarettes. In this way, you can break yourself of the habit of smoking while allowing your body a chance to wean off of the nicotine. The patches come in multiple sizes; larger patches have more nicotine and smaller ones have less. You can “step-down” your nicotine intake slowly, giving your body a chance to deal with the withdrawal in smaller doses. Quitting smoking is the important part. The chemicals in the tobacco products are highly dangerous and once you put the cigarettes down, your body can begin the process of repairing the damage caused by the act of smoking tobacco. Tobacco contains chemicals such as arsenic, formaldehyde, acetone, tar and carbon monoxide, which are all deadly in larger doses. So, smoking for several years is essentially the same as poisoning your own body. With the NRT, you can still get the nicotine “fix” your body craves without subjecting your insides to these extremely toxic chemicals.

Make the Decision to Quit
Deciding to quit smoking is a huge step towards a healthier, happier lifestyle. Don’t take it lightly; it’s a very large mountain to climb. You should set a date to quit and plan a reward at your completion date to give you added motivation. And if cold turkey doesn’t seem like something you can do, then look to the assistance that is available to you. The nicotine patch has helped many people achieve their non-smoking dreams and could possibly help you too.

If You Want to Quit Smoking, Hypnosis is the Healthiest Method

Joanne Fallwater asked:


Are you concerned about your health? If you want to quit smoking, hypnosis is the healthiest method. Just think about it for a minute. A quit smoking hypnosis program will teach your healthy habits that you can use for life. But quit smoking drugs have potentially dangerous side effects.

But just as dangerous can side effects be? After all, a lot of the drugs have to be prescribed by a doctor. Doesn’t a doctor’s supervision automatically make taking drugs to quit smoking safe? And aren’t they worth it if the end result is that you don’t smoke anymore?

First, you have to understand that all drugs have side effects. And some of them are more serious than others. You’re already addicted to nicotine, which is a heavy-duty poison. Did you know nicotine has been used for centuries as an insecticide to kill insects?

Well, when you use a nicotine patch or nasal sprays that are compounded with nicotine, you’re still delivering that poison into your system. True, you’re getting doses small enough that they won’t kill you as long as you follow the directions carefully.

But a long-time smoking habit isn’t just about the physical addiction to nicotine. People who have smoked for a number of years to develop “smoking rituals”. Those are the small actions that get repeated every time you smoke.

They are small things, like the way you hold your hand when you smoke your cigarette. Do you hold your cigarette between your index and middle fingers? Or do you like to hold it between your thumb and index finger?

You keep your lighter in your pants pocket? How many times a day do you reach for your lighter? Do you think it’s a coincidence that when you reach for your keys in your pocket, you suddenly crave a cigarette?

It’s no coincidence. Putting your hand in your pocket has become part of a “smoking ritual” that triggers your urge to smoke. Even if you just finished smoking a cigarette a few minutes ago, when you put your hand in your pocket again, you’ll think about having a cigarette.

That’s where the nicotine replacement drugs, like the patch and the nasal sprays and inhalers, can become dangerous. They take care of the physical cravings, but they don’t address the smoking rituals. So a lot of people end up using the quit smoking drugs, smoking their cigarettes or cigars on top of it.

That puts them in danger of having a nicotine overdose. Just because you don’t drop dead on the spot from smoking a cigarette or cigar, doesn’t mean that you can’t overdose on nicotine. You can. Not only can an overdose of nicotine make you violently ill, it can kill you on the spot. Like a dead bug hit with insecticide.

And what about the quit smoking pills? You can’t get them without a prescription, so you would think that they would be safe. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Even under a doctor’s supervision, some of the drugs themselves are just not safe.

If you take the time to read the list of potential side effects that these drugs can cause, it will make you think twice about taking them. You want to quit smoking because you want to be healthy. But do you really want to risk damage to your heart, liver, kidney and other internal organs while you’re in the process of quitting smoking?

There are other safer methods to quit smoking that don’t have any kind of physical health risk at all. No, you don’t have to quit smoking cold turkey. Hypnosis has the best long-term success rate of any of the methods that people use to quit smoking. And the side effects of using hypnosis, long term are actually good for you.

A good hypnosis program will give you tools to help ease the nicotine cravings. You’ll also learn ways to deactivate those “smoking ritual” triggers. And that’s really important for long-term success.

Quit Smoking Aids – Help yourself Quit Painlessly and Successfully

Karunakar asked:


“Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it a thousand times.” This quote by Mark Twain, aptly describes how tough it is for the addicts to stop smoking once and for all. Quitting cold turkey does help many smokers but many succumb to the temptation of having a puff again which gradually leads them back to their habit of chain smoking. In fact it has been observed that some smokers have to make 3 – 10 attempts to quit smoking in their life.

To make quitting attempts convenient and successful there are several quit smoking aids available in the market. Smokers can get help from a doctor or a dentist to decide on the most suitable quit smoking aid for them when they make a committed decision to quit.

Quit Smoking Aids

Smokers are very much aware of the health risk posed by cigarettes on their body and most of them have an unconscious desire to break the habit one day. The biggest fear faced by smokers thinking about quitting are the withdrawal symptoms and whether they will be too much to handle. Withdrawal symptoms like cravings, headache, cough, fatigue, anxiety, anger, insomnia, constipation, weight gain etc can put tremendous pressure on someone who is trying to give it up, and more than often leads to them picking up the habit again. Often, the fear of nicotine withdrawal symptoms dissuade smokers from even making an attempt to quit smoking while those who attempt give in to the symptoms and get back to their old habit.

To help smokers quit successfully with minimum discomfort there are large number of quit smoking aids available today. Listed here are few of the most successful ones –

-Nicotine Replacement Therapy

The nicotine in cigarettes causes an addiction and unpleasant feelings of withdrawal when a person tries to quit. Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) works by providing the body with nicotine generally in the form of a Nicotine Chewing Gum or Nicotine Patch without the other harmful parts of tobacco. Other forms of nicotine based quit smoking aids include nicotine tabs, lozenges, nicotine nasal spray, inhalators. These aids can help a person concentrate more on quitting the habit of smoking by relieving the symptoms of withdrawal.

However, since NRTs contain nicotine, a certain risk of re-addiction is involved when using these products. Therefore, one must use this method carefully by following instructions from doctor.

-Nicotine-Free Quit Smoking Aids

These days there are several forms of quit smoking aids that do not use nicotine as an active ingredient. These are prescription based drugs and hence should be taken under a doctor’s care.

Zyban – The active ingredient in this quit smoking aid is bupropion hydrochloride. Developed as an anti-depressant drug, Zyban has been shown to dramatically reduce physical withdrawal symptoms associated with nicotine and hence works well as a smoking cessation aid.

Chantix – Developed by Pfizer, Chantix (varenicline tartrate) was approved by FDA in May 2006. Unique property of this popular quit smoking aid is that it reduces the level of satisfaction derived from smoking. Chantix also reduces the nicotine withdrawal effects and thus makes it convenient to quit.

Processes to Follow Quit Smoking Aids

Following processes may help smokers quit smoking successfully -

1.Decide to Quit – This is the fundamental aspect of any smoking cessation program. Tell yourself honestly that you want to quit and you will quit.

2.Prepare to Quit – Planning makes it possible. Set a quit date, seek support of your friends and family, and be prepared for the cravings that come with withdrawal.

3.Use Quit Smoking Aids – Quitting cold turkey is tough for people addicted to nicotine. Prescription drugs like Chantix reduce the impact of withdrawal and helps you quit successfully.

Benefits of Quit Smoking Drugs

Studies reveal that quit smoking drugs quadruples a person’s chances to quit smoking as compared to trying it cold turkey. The best part of quit smoking drugs like Chantix is that it makes quitting a painless process as it significantly reduces the effects of nicotine withdrawals. The other good characteristic of Chantix is that is makes smoking less enjoyable for you. People on Chantix do not derive any pleasure out of smoking and are therefore reluctant to light up again. This is a significant feature of Chantix for smokers who are unable to bear the craving and have a tendency to break their smoking cessation program by lighting a cigarette.

Seek your doctor’s approval before using Chantix as a quit smoking aid and get the cigarettes out of your life, forever.

Stop Smoking – 10 Ways

Wayne Cooper asked:


Stop Smoking for good is the way to go! Smokers also need to realize the ill effects of smoking, as it has an adverse effect on the nervous system. It damages the nerves and causes harm to the immune system. It is rightly said, that first people take to smoking and then it takes over them. People start with smoking one cigarette a day, which slowly increases with each passing day. The temptation of smoking urges a smoker to smoke every hour of the day. Smoking actually takes the smoker for a ride. In the beginning, smokers feel good, when they smoke as according to them, it delivers a fashion statement. Later on, it develops into addiction. At this stage, it becomes almost impossible for the smoker to stop smoking and do away with the habit completely. Hence, below are 10 ways to stop smoking effectively.

Nongovernmental organizations or popularly the NGOs are doing their best to eradicate this social evil. Individuals may seek the help of such institutions to give up smoking. Even family members, coworkers and friends might prove supportive.

Top 10 Ways to Stop Smoking:

1. Support group: To stop smoking, smokers may resort to local support groups, who provide expert counseling to do away with smoking. Support groups hold group meetings, where people with similar views discuss over global issues. They try to locate the root cause of a problem and come out with solutions for it. They equip themselves with statistical data and inform people about how smoking causes injury to the human system.

2. Cold turkey: Individuals may stop smoking using cold turkey method. It is all about using the willpower to avoid the dependence on cigarettes. Many smokers have found this method beneficial with reduction in their craving for cigarettes.

3. Hypnosis: It is the best way to stop smoking. Here, the therapists reprogram an individual’s subconscious mind. This scientific method has proven beneficial as compared to any other chemical-based treatment to stop smoking.

4. Nicotine patch: Studies note use of nicotine patch makes quitting cigarette possible. It offers the body with a transdermal nicotine feed. It fights the strong influences of nicotine that rule the mind and body for years ever since the first cigarette smoked.

5. Rehab Drugs: Individuals may switch to several rehab drugs or pills to stop smoking.

6. Go the Holistic Way: Holistic approach can also help to stop smoking, as it controls the mind, spirit and body of a smoker and limits the need to light up a cigarette.

7. Acupuncture: Smokers may go through the process of acupuncture to stop smoking. Acupuncture targets three areas of the body namely the kidney, liver and the nervous system. It aims at healing the body through detoxification.

8. Nicotine gum: Smokers may chew the nicotine gums that come in many flavors. Nicotine gum lessens the urge to smoke.

9. Buddy system: Individuals may invite their friends in a no-smoking campaign, which influences other smokers to quit smoking. Avoid going where smoking is frequent. Count on the days as the cravings for cigarette lessens until the addiction is finally abandoned.

10. Harmless cigarettes: Smokers may also consider this method to quit smoking. These types of cigarettes are actually smokeless cigarettes.

Overview:

Cigarette smoking is extremely harmful to humans. Most individuals, who initially feel good about this habit, will later regret the taking up of smoking. Their health will deteriorates and they could experience physical weakness due to smoking. Hence, it is important to stop smoking before it gets hold of you and takes a toll on your health. Some other resources, where smokers may get assistance to stop smoking are dentist or local hospital.