Those who try to simply stop smoking face a big pain: withdrawal symptoms. Their bodies, which have been so used to having nicotine in the bloodstream, craves for the same amount. Without the normal dosage - yes, smoking is like a drug that's regularly administered - the smoker's body goes through symptoms familiar to those who quit and took up smoking again: depression, insomnia, irritability, and an undefined sense of something lost.
Website and homebrew remedies details some ways to help the quitting smoker get a hold of himself or herself through the process, so that a relapse will not follow after the decision to stop smoking. One way to help through the process is to use nicotine patches. But one should keep in mind that this, too, like a drug, have conditions for it to work as expected on the quitting smoker. It's not a one-size fits everyone solutions, it's not an overnight magical answer.
The patch reduces craving. Contrary to what some who want to smoke thing, the nicotine patches do not completely eliminate the cravings they go through. Smoking carries with it some physical and mental effects on one's person, and some aspects cannot be handled by nicotine patches.
There are also reported side effects of using patches. Some of them just as unpleasant as not having patches at all, as reported by those who had already tried them. These discomforts include headaches, constant vomiting, stomach pains, and nausea. In some cases, these are the outcome of overmedication using the patches; in some cases these effects are temporary. But it pays to know the side effects before going completely headstrong into nicotine patches. Some who stop smoking did so with out them.
So how does one approach whether you should or should not use nicotine patches to stop smoking?
Step one. Don't just rush into buying the patches themselves. Consult with your doctor if you have medical conditions that may get aggravated when you take patches. You don't want to rake in more medical bills on the off chance you get worse.
Step two. Should your doctor approve, the first application of the patch will tingle a bit, so choose a section of your skin that's got less hair. Also, vary the areas you stick the patch to. Inspect the areas well, they should not have open wounds and rashes. Should you feel any sudden palpitations of breathing changes, go to your doctor and have yourself checked out.
Step three. Mind the doses. Also, note that you may have to try lower doses after maybe two weeks, as your body will have gotten used to them by then. These things vary from person to person. Hence the need to be monitored by a physician through consultations. You may experience a surge in appetite, so bear with it.
Just remember to consult with your doctor before you try the nicotine patch, and to stay in touch during the process. If anyone could simply stop smoking, nicotine patches and other 'remedies' won't be needed. Sadly, nicotine addiction is a medical condition wherein your body craves a substance. So weaning yourself away from the substance by getting less and less of it is key to your decision to stop smoking. In this case, nicotine patches help a great deal in dealing with the withdrawal symptoms.
Millions of young guys and even girls start to smoke because they think that it makes them look more mature and cool. But most of the times they are very wrong. It may feel empowering to hold the cigarette in your hand, but once you hold it, you hold it for life, which then turns out to be quite a short one. You must be careful that you do not cough your way to death, for that would indeed be a pity! You must quit smoking so as to live a healthier and longer life.
If you have finally decided to quit smoking once and for all, do not look back. Do not think twice about your decision to quit. There are various self-help techniques you can try but the fact is, most people need assistance in their endeavor to end their addiction to smoking.
• A very popular method of getting rid of the addiction is by easing your transition into non-smoking by using nicotine replacement products. They do not alleviate your nicotine cravings but take the edge off them so that you can transit through them without picking up a cigarette. You should be able to use these products as long as your doctor gives the okay.
• There are many organizations that help people quit smoking. You can also join a group, utilize talk therapy, or even undergo hypnosis to help ease your cravings. These methods can be used in combination with other methods.
• You should do some research to help quit smoking. By doing that, you can find out whether your addiction is mainly physical or psychological or a combination of both. An addiction to Nicotine is mainly physical-you crave it and hence need to have it. If you fall in this category, using Nicotine replacement products such as patches is going to be a perfect solution to help you through the transition.
• The psychological addiction to smoking is more complicated. It manifests when you have to light a cigarette when in stress, with certain foods and drinks like coffee, when you get up in the morning and so on. These may be physical, no doubt, but you also possess a psychological attachment without which you feel lost.
• If you fall in the latter category, you need to actually substitute the physical act of puffing on a cigarette with another physical activity. Switching to Nicotine gums is an effective way of getting rid of both the physical and psychological element. It helps give you some of the oral involvement that puffing on a cigarette does. You chew gum instead of smoking cigarettes, but you are still doing something.
It might also help if you have support from people who have been there. You can either buddy up with a friend or join a group. Having others in a support group gives you feeling of accountability and makes sure that you stay on course.
These are some effective steps that you can take to help you quit smoking. It is ultimately your discretion as to which method you find suits you most.
The nicotine patch has been available in markets for a long time. It is used in cases where a smoker is trying to quit smoking. These things are designed in such a way that it will give the body a continuous dose of nicotine be it day or night. It’s also very easy to use! Just put on one in the morning, and at night you take it off, and the next day you use another one.
If you’re a regular smoker, you’ll see that once you’ve taken a puff, you’ll feel satisfied with yourself since the nicotine levels are high in your body, but once it starts to drop, you’ll be itching to have another one. A patch with the proper dosage will result in no urge to have another puff and will help you stay happy and satisfied as you try to lay off cigarettes.
Smokers are recommended to use nicotine patch therapy, by treatment programs that aim to reduce the dependence on tobacco. The treatment can last for up to twenty weeks, or till one can overcome the habit of smoking by abstaining from it. Nicotine patches are generally safe as well, so you don’t have to worry about severe side-effects. Short-lived side effects of prolonged use of patches can be a tingling feeling, a mild itch, or a burning sensation on the skin where the patch is.
The patch gives the body a relatively small dose so that one can control the cravings and gradually reduce the amount of nicotine needed for one’s body. Tobacco smoke contains toxics like carbon monoxide, tar and carcinogens which the patch is free of. Smoking can cause high blood pressure and high heart rates, but there’s nothing of the kind in case of patches, since they deliver it directly into the blood in tiny quantities compared to a cigarette.
Patches deliver a certain amount of nicotine to the body and sometimes bodily demands exceed the supply. This is one drawback of using the patch.
It is common for anyone who’s trying to quit actually changing one’s schedule and giving up the rituals of taking out a smoke and the lighter whenever one’s leaving the house. Breaking a ritual that’s become a part of one’s life is hard, so try and replace them with walks after meals, a bottle of cold water after one wakes up in the morning and trying one’s best to avoid pubs or any place with a lot of smokers around.
The changes you bring to your life when you start using nicotine patches need to be changes that become permanent in your life. Smoking, like any habit, are hard to break once you become accustomed to it. So just like you’ve become addicted to smoking, if you can detach yourself from cigarettes you’ll be able to live smoke free again.
So prepare yourself for the life of a non-smoker. The first few weeks of trying to quit will be the toughest, but remind yourself that in a month or so from now you won’t be craving cigarettes anymore and you will finally have control over your life. It’s important to quit smoking today so your life does not go up in smoke tomorrow.
If you think being a smoking machine will make you look cool then you are only fooling yourself. Sticking cigarettes in your mouth by the dozen does not make you look “hip” or “different”. In fact, you will be just another average Joe who can’t kick the habit. Even though you may not feel the ill-effects of smoking on your health today, they are bound to sneak up on you eventually. This is why it’s important to seek help on quitting smoking now, because you never know when your body is going to turn against you.
Smoking is not an issue about right or wrong, it’s an issue about practicality. Logic and science have rationalized that smoking is injurious to health, not only to you, but to others as well. Passive smoke or second hand smoke has become a major problem for the non-smokers of today, since wherever they turn; they are covered in misty nicotine smoke that chokes them up completely.
You have a responsibility to maintain towards others, and even if you decided that your own life is not worth saving and therefore you shouldn’t stop smoking, you cannot decide the same for the others too. For their sake, you have to kick this terrible habit out through the window. So what can you do about it? How can you get to quit smoking?
First, really decide that you will stop smoking. This may seem to be a laughable matter, since you will think that it is very simple and easy. But this is not true at all. You have to stop smoking not just because your family or friends have urged you to do so, but because you have to save yourself. This is for your own good, and the faster you realize that, the stronger your promise will be to put a stop to it.
Secondly, you have to put away anything that could tempt you to go for that poisonous substance again. Make sure that you throw away all the packs, and even put away the ash-trays in the closet where you will not be able to reach easily.
Third, you can tell your friends and family about this resolution. You will be surprised to see how much help and support your will receive. But you will have to stay true to the promise that you make to yourself and the people around you will help you to keep it.
Make a list to point out the various factors for which you are willing to quit. If you have this list with you all the time, whenever you get tempted, you can glance at the list again and again to remind yourself about being stern about your promise.
Find out the times of the day when you are in the habit of smoking a lot, say after a meal, or in the evening or whenever you are alone and need to think. What you need to do during these times is to find out a better way to do things so that they will keep your mind off the subject of smoking. For example, if you are in the habit of having cigarettes in the evening, you can take a walk instead.
Drink a lot of water and eat fruits every day. This will bring you body metabolism to a balance that will de-stress you so that you do not resort to smoking.
Calculate how much you spend every month in order to buy a packet of cigarettes for yourself every week. The figure that you will arrive will make your eyes pop out. When you buy a pack, it may seem that you are spending only a sliver of your entire monthly income, but if you add up the numbers of an entire year, you will see that the added sum blows through the roof!
These steps are your help for quitting smoking. If you follow them as your rules, you will be able to resist yourself from breaking your promise to quit, and getting back to this horrible habit again. This is why it is important to stick to your convictions and never let your faith and strength waver.
