Monday, February 23, 2009

Stop Smoking: What are Your Options?

By Pat Lowe

There's no shortage of methods to stop smoking. But are any of them for real? 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.

Medications

Nicotine patches are a popular method for quitting smoking. They work by slowly decreasing the amount of nicotine that you ingest each day. This will lessen the withdrawal symptoms when the nicotine is stopped for good.

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.

It's important to note that using medications to help you stop smoking isn't always the complete answer. That's because it's not just a chemical addiction you're dealing with. Smoking is also psychologically addictive, which is equally difficult to deal with.

Cold Turkey

Most people will try this method first when they decide it's time to stop smoking. This is a rather brutal approach that means just stopping; no medications and no slowly tapering down. Although it's popular, it's not necessarily the most successful method.

Most people who smoke are addicted to the large quantities of nicotine that are contained in cigarettes. 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 challenge is finding ways to distract yourself from these symptoms when they occur. Many people find this too difficult and eventually give in to their cravings.

Substituting

This technique involves replacing smoking with some other activity or behavior. Some people pop a candy in their mouth or chew some gum whenever they feel the need for a smoke. Sometimes this will help to satisfy the oral fixation by giving your mouth something else to do.

Other people substitute exercise for smoking. If they feel they need a smoke, they choose instead to hit the gym or go for a walk.

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. However, it's important that you don't give up. Your life might depend on it.

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