Stop Smoking Patchs Not Work

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     Nicotine is addictive! Most smokers use tobacco regularly because they are addicted to the nicotine. You can be addicted to the nicotine in a physical and physological addiction. Addiction is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, even if they are in the risk of health problems. It is well documented that most smokers identify tobacco as harmful and express a desire to reduce or stop using it, and nearly 35 million of them make a serious attempt to quit. Unfortunately, 7% of those who try to quit in their own achieve more than 1 year of abstinence; most relapse within a few days of trying to quit. Some of the other factors besides nicotine addictive properties include its high level of availability, the small number of legal consequences of using the tobacco, and the advertising methods used by companies. What most people do not realize is that the

Another effective way to quit smoking is to ease the amount of nicotine in one’s body as well as decreasing the stress of completely giving up the habit of smoking. A study performed by Bullen and Etter found that 92% of smokers using electronic cigarettes for three months reduced the total number of cigarettes they smoked (as cited in Rahman et al., 2014). The use of an electronic cigarette reduces a smoker’s need for cigarettes since their mechanisms are like an actual cigarette. These devices also deliver nicotine to the smoker when inhaled, as well as the user can choose the dosage of nicotine they’re receiving. Furthermore, an electronic cigarette user can start with a nicotine dose that is measurable to or higher than a cigarette then over time reducing their quantity until the smoker no longer has the desire to be using the nicotine. This decrease in the amount of nicotine will reduce withdrawal symptoms of the person trying to quit smoking, thus decreasing the smokers need to use real cigarettes. Notably, a clinical trial done by Polosa

Of the roughly 42 million adults in the US that use tobacco, nearly 69% of smokers want to quit and more than 42% of those wishing to quit will make the attempt through various methods(1). These methods range from the "cold turkey" method, nicotine replacement therapy, behavioural therapy and even medicine. Each method has it's unique strengths and weaknesses as well as varying success rates. There are many reasons to quit and many ways in which to do so, either with methods that involve slowly weaning off of nicotine, like gums and patches from replacement therapy, to nicotine-free methods which require support from various sources.

I tried the nicotine patches and gums, but for me, I found that it almost made my cravings worse. The nicotine in these products seemed to make me think about cigarettes more than when I had attempted a cold-turkey quit in the past. I even tried herbs and meditation, but nothing I did seemed to free me from the addiction.

For tobacco addiction, over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies in the form of patch, lozenge, spray or gum are available. In addition, prescription medications like bupropion and veranicline, which prevent relapse, are used.

Nicotine replacements and patches are always in advertisements and pushed in stores. While the ads may make it seem easy to quit with a nicotine replacement, they are not actually effective. Recent studies show that smoking cessation drugs like patches and gums do not effectively stop nicotine cravings.

E-cigs are a fantastic way to help people quit smoking, because when switching over the smokers will still be getting the nicotine that they crave without all of the terrible and harmful effects on the body. E-cigs may also trick the mind too, by inhaling the vapor the brain may think it is smoke and be much more satisfied with it than just a nicotine patch. There was study done recently of 657 people with 289 using e-cigs, 295 on nicotine patches, and 73 using placebo e-cigs all trying to quit smoking. After six months, they had the test subjects report back whether or not they were able to quit. The data came back very compelling with 21/289 people quit on e-cigs, 17/295 on nicotine patches quit, and 3/73 were able to quit on placebo e-cigs. They came to a conclusion that e-cigs, with or without nicotine, were moderately effective at helping smokers quit smoking, and with equal to if not better quitting rates than nicotine patches (Bullen et al). It is proven that e-cigarettes/vapes can be a significant and if not the best method to quit

Nicotine withdrawal symptoms include tobacco cravings, headache, nausea, fatigue, drowsiness, insomnia, irritability, anxiety, and depressed mood. Tobacco addiction often takes several tries to quit and a doctor should be seen if needed. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse a combination of both behavioral interventions and medication to help people quit smoking are more affective then either alone. Behavioral treatments range from self-help skills to counseling, as well as help in identifying high risk situations and how to deal with them. Nicotine replacement treatments like nicotine gum, nicotine patches, lozenges and inhalers can help to relieve withdrawal symptoms. There are now medications that can help with smoking cessation, they can target nicotine receptors in the brain, easing withdrawal and blocking the effects of nicotine

E-cigarettes have exploded onto the scene in the past three years. Whole stores dedicated to these devices have opened their doors to the public and business is thriving. E-cigarettes are battery-charged devices that have an atomizer, or heating element, in them to vaporize liquid nicotine. The user is able to inhale this vapor and get the nicotine without the other 4,000 chemicals present in tobacco cigarette smoke (Schroeder). Nicotine is a chemical that is produced by the tobacco plant. People have discovered that by smoking the leaves of a tobacco plant the nicotine in the leaves is delivered into the bloodstream. Nicotine by itself is not an awful drug as far as drugs go, although it is highly addictive, it is the tar in cigarettes that does so much damage. Tobacco use remains the number one preventable cause of death in the U.S. with 480,000 Americans dying prematurely from tobacco related disease. Kicking this habit remains difficult for most (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Mark Twain once wrote “It’s easy to quit smoking, I’ve done it hundreds of times.”

Most smokers want to quit and make attempts to do so, but the majority of these attempts fail. Electronic cigarettes are these peoples best choice if they want to quit but the first generation e-cigarettes failed severely. Luckily the second generation personal vaporizers are working out great. Vape pens have a benefit over traditional nicotine replacement treatments, in that they feel and perform like a traditional cigarette, without the smoke, tar and other damaging materials.

Researchers and doctors all over the world constantly discuss smoking problems. There is an incredible amount of information offered to people who fight the desire to light a cigarette, on a daily basis. But, as any drug, smoking is difficult to be forgotten, even with all the issues it brings.

If you have finally decided to take steps to stop smoking instead of putting it off as a New Year's resolution year after year, then you may realize that your local pharmacist can provide you with stop-smoking pamphlets and nicotine replacement therapy options, such as nicotine

Smoking is one of the most controversial topics in the world, the cigarette while being popular has many negative side effects to people's health. Many companies have made different ads to make people stop smoking, let’s take a look at an advertisement made by Nicotinell to combat smoking and help smokers quit.

The nicotine nasal spray and the nicotine inhaler are available by prescription, as are the stop-smoking medications bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Chantix). However, some types of NRT, including patches, gum and lozenges, are available over-the-counter (OTC) ("Quitting smoking," 2014) Studies using the nicotine patch showed a decrease in the number of cigarettes smoked, but abstinence rates of only 5 percent after six to 12