Three Ways to Overcome Cigarette Smoking Addiction
by Chris Harmen
Cigarettes can have a powerful hold on smokers. The reason is the high concentration of nicotine, which has been found to produce an addictive reaction in human beings. When smokers inhale tobacco smoke, the chemicals are absorbed in the bloodstream triggering a strong reaction. But, strictly speaking nicotine itself isn’t addictive. It’s the reaction of the pleasurable feeling of the dopamine-releasing neurons in the brain that causes an addiction.
When a cigarette is lit and inhaled, the tobacco and other ingredients such as carbon monoxide and over 4,000 chemicals including arsenic are inhaled which can create health risks, most notably lung cancer.
It’s for that reason alone that many people try to quit smoking. 35,000 smokers try to quit each year, but less than five percent stop smoking for at least a year. And a large percentage that try to quit, try going ‘cold turkey’. But with the powerful effects of nicotine addiction, it can be very hard to succeed.
There are three proven ways to overcome a smoking addiction:
Putting A Patch On A Nicotine Addiction
Some people who quit smoking choose the nicotine patch. The transdermal patch allows nicotine to enter the bloodstream through the skin. Patches provide a continuous nicotine release at a slower, less intense burst than smoking does.
As with other nicotine-replacement treatments, the nicotine patch allows smokers to get the feel-good chemical reaction without the harmful side effects of smoking. The patch is meant to be used as a temporary smoking cessation tool. Patches come in different strengths so that users can slowly decrease their exposure to nicotine until they can live comfortably without it. Some people who use the patch experience side effects including skin reactions at the patch site.
Using Nicotine Gum As A Substitute
Many people choose nicotine gum as a way to get the pleasure-inducing dopamine release that nicotine provides. Nicotine gum can work for some people who are addicted to nicotine, but who don’t necessarily love the act of smoking.
In the film Meet The Parents, Ben Stiller’s character tried to avoid smoking while staying with his prospective in-laws by chewing nicotine gum excessively. Eventually he gave up and reverted back to smoking, causing a fire and mayhem ensuing.
That Hollywood exaggeration illustrated the main flaw with nicotine gum and with the patch. Chewing gum doesn’t simulate the experience that many smokers become accustomed to and enjoy: Taking a long draw from a cigarette, inhaling, and exhaling. That feeling can create such relaxation to a long-time smoker, that the experience is almost as habit-forming as the nicotine itself.
Nicotine gum may not be appropriate in some settings. Many companies ask employees to refrain from chewing gum for the sake of keeping a professional environment. Trying to fit a short 10 or 15-minute session of chewing nicotine gum may not provide the dose of nicotine that provides the same effect as smoking one cigarette.
Electronic Cigarettes Provide A Realistic Option To Reduce Nicotine Addiction
It can be very difficult for smokers to quit smoking now, because nicotine isn’t the only hold that smoking has on them. That’s the benefit of using electronic cigarettes to decrease nicotine over time.
Electronic cigarettes look, feel, and taste like traditional cigarettes while providing nicotine without the associated risks found with smoking. In contrast to the numerous dangers that smoking tobacco comes with, a smokeless e-cig contains only water, propylene glycol, nicotine, scent and flavor. It produces no ashes, no smell, and no cigarette breath.
E-cigs have a simulated look of a traditional cigarette with a battery microprocessor that activates an atomized cartridge that injects tiny droplets of liquid into the flowing air that in turn produces mist that is inhaled by the user. The nicotine content found in one cartridge of e-cigs is lower than that found in their tobacco counterparts; however, the user dictates how much they want to consume by replacing the cartridges with lower or higher dose cartridges.
Whether choosing a nicotine patch, nicotine gum or e-cigs to reduce nicotine addiction, the important thing is to quit smoking now, for your own health and the health of those around you who suffer the effects of secondhand smoke.
About the Author:
Chris Harmen is a writer for Premium Electronic Cigarette, an online retailer of electronic cigarettes. By switching to a smokeless cigarette, smokers can quit smoking now tobacco cigarettes.
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