Stop Smoking: What are Your Options?
February 17, 2009 by Admin
Filed under Stop Smoking General
There are countless techniques that claim to help you quit smoking. But do they work? Here’s a look at a few popular approaches. You can decide for yourself if any of them will help you stop smoking for good.
Pharmaceuticals
Nicotine patches are a popular method for quitting smoking. This method allows you to gradually taper down the amount of nicotine that goes into your system. This helps to ease the symptoms of withdrawal once nicotine is gone from your system completely.
A new option in prescription drugs is the quit smoking pill known as Chantix. This medication causes the release of dopamine, a feel good chemical in your brain. The brain experiences the same effect as if nicotine were present in your bloodstream. Withdrawal symptoms become almost nonexistent with this treatment.
Keep in mind that pharmaceutical approaches to help you quit smoking aren’t always as successful as you might wish. That’s because it’s not just a chemical addiction you’re dealing with. There is also a psychological dependence on smoking that is hard to overcome.
Cold Turkey
This is one of the most popular methods among people who decide to quit smoking. Essentially, it involves simply quitting, without any gradual tapering off or pharmaceutical assistance. Even though it’s a favorite technique, it isn’t always the best choice.
It’s all that nicotine that is contained in cigarettes that is so addictive to people who smoke. This is a highly addictive drug, and withdrawal symptoms appear when your body is no longer getting it. Quitting cold turkey heightens the withdrawal effect, and your symptoms will go on for at least two weeks.
The hard part is to learn how to take your mind off these symptoms when they come over you. Smokers usually have too much difficulty with this approach and end up succumbing to the craving.
Substitution
This technique involves replacing smoking with some other activity or behavior. Many people have found success by sucking on hard candy or chewing gum when the urge to smoke hits. This can help ease your oral craving by keeping your mouth occupied.
Other people substitute exercise for smoking. When they crave a cigarette, they simply go for a run or get on an exercise bike.
Anyone who has ever been a smoker knows how difficult it is to kick the habit. Those who have managed to stop smoking will likely agree that it took more than one try before they were able to quit smoking for good. But it’s worth it to keep trying. After all, your life is on the line.
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