Addiction can be defined as a compulsive and habit-forming dependence on a substance like tobacco, alcohol, drugs, food, alcohol, sex, etc.

Addiction means “to say yes” or “consent to.” The word, “addiction” is obtained from the Latin word, “addicere,” which means to surrender to someone or something. Therefore, an addict is somebody who has surrendered or given him or herself to a substance, physical object or a person.

Addiction wields a prolonged and compelling influence on the brain. It manifests in three major ways: intense craving for the substance of addiction, failure to curtail or control its use, and continued usage in spite of harmful outcomes.

There are many forms of addiction. Tobacco addiction is just one of them. Now, why is tobacco addictive? It is addictive because it contains nicotine.

Nicotine is a natural substance that can be found in tobacco but you can call it the dangerous drug that hooks us on cigarettes. For starters,

* Nicotine is exceedingly addictive

* It modifies and freaks the brain in unimaginable ways

* Aside the human brain, it wields a subtle influence on the smoker’s body.

* Tobacco is the only plant in the whole wide world that has nicotine in it.

* Nicotine produces a “ pleasurable ” feeling on the brain by stimulating the production of endorphins (cocaine produces a related chemical effect). Endorphins can be called pain killers. They block the sending of pain signals in your body and bring about a general feeling of euphoria…

But, just like heroin or cocaine :

* Nicotine creates a need for daily ingestion of higher quantities to attain the same level of well-being. So,we can safely say, it is habit-forming.

* Nicotine creates a physical addiction that brings about bitter withdrawal symptoms when the supply of nicotine to the body is cut off.

Even if these withdrawal symptoms are not as bizarre as those brought about by heroin or cocaine treatment, nicotine’s influence creates an addiction that is just as powerful!

Physical Addiction

Smoking cessation is both a physical and psychological battle. The nicotine in cigarettes brings about a physical addiction. In the United States of America, the Surgeon General declared nicotine an habit-forming drug in the year 1989 but because it is legal and easily accessible, people in the U.S. abuse it more than any other drug.

Physical addiction occurs when your body has been so influenced by your dependence on tobacco that you need it to function as a normal human being. And because your body is so used to it, it begins to tolerate it and request for higher quantities to achieve the same “high” or “buzz”. But, if you stop smoking or chewing tobacco, cravings and physical withdrawal symptoms will set in bringing about a whole range of problems.

Overcoming Physical Addiction

Physical withdrawal from nicotine is short-lived, but it can be disquieting while it lasts. It manifests in the form of irritability, insomnia, crankiness, inability to concentrate, nervousness,headache,et cetera. While some quitters experience most of these symptoms, other quitters don’t, so, it will be safe to say no two smoking cessation experiences can be the same.

Below,I discuss how to overcome physical addiction with the 6D’s.

* delay smoking – once a craving hits you, just tell yourself, “this too will pass” and delay smoking by about 5 minutes by which time the craving would have disappeared.

* distract yourself- while delaying smoking, don’t just sit down doing nothing. Distract yourself by taking a walk, calling a friend or looking through a magazine.

* deep breathe – take really deep breaths as you wait, it will bring a surge of oxygen to your brain and make you think clearer. It will relax you at the same time.

* drink water- water is essential during the quit process and anytime a craving hits you,take a sip, as many sips as you can.

* ditch stressful situations – as much as you can, avoid stressful situations as they more than often lead to a relapse.

* do something else – do something else with your hands when a strong urge to smoke hits you. This is due to the fact that your mind has come to associate your hands with holding cigarette sticks, so, to overcome the urge, just hold a pen, play with a stop watch, whatever, just do something else with your hands.

Exercise, good food and adequate rest are also ways to overcome physical addiction.

Read these for more help on overcoming physical withdrawal symptoms:

*Natural Ways to Cope with Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms

*How to Stop Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms

Psychological Addiction

Psychological or mental dependence goes far beyond the physical. It is a state in which a person’s mental health is affected if they are denied access to a substance, in this case, tobacco or cigarettes.

When you smoke for a long period of time, the cigarettes become a part of you- they become a friend – you go everywhere with them, you treasure them. When you stop smoking, the first thing that hits you mentally is the loss of a friend. You feel incomplete without cigarettes because they have grown to become a part of you. Nervousness, mood swings and fretfulness are just a few of the mental effects of addiction. Other emotions you will not but experience when you quit smoking are denial, sadness, guilt, acceptance, irritability, and many others.

If you find yourself experiencing any one of these emotions, accept that it is normal and that many people go through these stages on the path to permanent cessation and that you, too, can successfully go through each stage and come out victorious.

Psychological addiction also occurs when you smoke and associate certain facets of your life – such as drinking, driving, partying or watching television – with smoking. When you quit smoking cigarettes, you have to determine how you will cope with the cravings because you will definitely have them when you set foot in a place or go through a circumstance in which you once smoked. For example, after finishing a meal, or sitting in front of the TV, or when you are driving in your car to work, there’s the tendency to feel a strong desire to smoke. The urges are not necessarily rooted in the physical. They are deeply rooted in the psychological and you must find a way to beat them to avoid a relapse.

Overcoming Psychological Addiction

Since you smoke throughout the day and night, chances are, you’ll be confronted by many of these associations that “trigger” your craving for nicotine. You may have to change your daily routine, perhaps kickoff a new way of life to keep these triggers away.

* If you used to drive to work,perhaps,you may have to start going by public transport to avoid smoking.

* If you used to smoke while hanging out with “the boys”, you may have to avoid such events for a while to avoid a relapse.

I can hear you say, “why should I make all these lifestyle changes just to stop smoking?” You definitely have to if you don’t want to drop dead from having Lung Cancer or even COPD.

According to the CDC, over 440000 people experience untimely deaths from smoking in the United States. If that is not enough motivation to quit, Intellihealth has some motivation for you. According to it, each cigarette you smoke, contains close to 10 mg of nicotine, out of which 1 to 2 mg goes straight into the blood. If taken in all at once, a small quantity of fresh nicotine has the capacity to terminate the life of a healthy person. But, it doesn’t because your body metabolizes nicotine at a speedy rate. Also, because a cigarette is smoked over a period of time, the amount of nicotine in your body never rises to an uncontrollable level. A sobering fact, you may say.

You can read more about the psychology of cigarette addiction in this speech by Robert West at the 2009 UK Smoking Cessation Conference. West is a Professor of Health Psychology and Director of Tobacco Studies at the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre of University College, London.

Don’t panic because of your physical and psychological addiction!

Physical and psychological withdrawal are temporary phases in your recovery from nicotine addiction. They are but for a fleeting moment. Remember there are better days ahead. Days when you will wake up with a grand feeling of freedom and control. Beating your addiction is worth every effort you are putting in now. Just hang on,you will surely overcome!

This book by Allen Carr has helped many people overcome physical and psychological addiction. It can help you too!

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This is so fundamental but many people still don’t get it. It’s the beginning of your stop smoking journey. Without it, there’s no quit attempt. This is what will make you finally decide not to touch a cigarette in your life again.

Now, this is how it goes and I call it the ‘inside out’ approach. For you to see any growth or change on the outside of man, the growth or change must first take place within. Or let me just say the journey from smoker to ex-smoker is an INTERNAL TRIP. If you don’t see yourself as an ex-smoker in the inner recesses of your mind, it will not happen in real life.

The mind is where the issues of life emanate, like the aeroplane’s black box which is used to determine the reasons for a plane crash, by recording any hints in the flight crew’s conversation.

How do I convince my mind to stop smoking? Reject any fantasizing or romanticizing about smoking. Also reject any thought that urges you to smoke. Fill your mind with positive thoughts. Psychological addiction is tough to beat. Physical addiction can be overcome in a matter of days but recovery from psychological addiction will take many months and will involve the mind to become a reality.

A smoker’s mind generally sees cigarettes in a good light but for you to effectively quit smoking, you must develop what I call a ‘stop smoking mind’. This kind of mind sees cigarettes as bad, it sees cigarettes as agents of death and doesn’t want to have any thing to do with it.

This is the first hurdle. Once that is crossed, you will now have to start seeing yourself as an ex-smoker. The image of you that your smoker’s mind has is that of a chain smoker who cannot do without cigarettes. You have to substitute that image with that of a clean man who hates smoking and wouldn’t touch a cigarette with a long poll. It’s a mind thing and it’s going to be slightly challenging as the image you want to substitute with a new one has been in your mind for years. But, you can do it and Clement Stone says: “whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve”. If you can conceive and see in your mind that you are an ex-smoker, I believe it’s just a matter of time for what you have seen to come to reality. Your seeing it in the mind will convince your mind to go for it.

It’s a law of life and a law of nature. Whatever you want to happen in your life must first happen in your mind. If it doesn’t happen in your mind (the spiritual), it won’t happen in real life. This is because the spiritual controls the physical. “First within and then without”, that’s what the first law of success says.

Those of us conversant with the scriptures would recall how God called Abraham out to count the stars, promising him his descendants will be as uncountable as the stars in the sky. And this was at a time Abraham desperately wanted a heir. This means, Abraham had to see his children spiritually before they will manifest in the physical.

I’ve seen this same situation come to bear in my life. Several years ago,when I was learning to drive, I found it a bit difficult because I did not engage this concept early. Once I started seeing myself as a driver, I overcame and was able to drive. I had to change the mental picture I had of myself and substituted it with that of a lady who lived in the midst of plenty and could drive any car she wanted.

Are You Ready to Make this Shift?

Even though many people claim smoking cessation is a tough thing to do, I want to know if it’s tougher than developing lung cancer or dropping dead from COPD. If it’s not tougher, I urge you to make this shift that will result in huge benefits for you, your family and the society at large.

It’s the shift of a lifetime and generally involves you rejecting any fantasizing about smoking. Stop any thought that continually tells you good things about smoking: it will relieve your stress, it will relax you,it will make you feel good,et cetera. Reject such thoughts,they will do you no good.

This mind shift would be required to kick start your quit smoking journey and keep the process going. There’s no slouching or relaxing at any point in time. Smoking cessation is like going to war and the war is generally fought on the battlefield called the mind of man. So, be prepared to go to war; be equipped to go on the offensive; train your mind to quell the attacks at a go.

The attacks will come in the form of subtle suggestions to smoke just one last cigarette after you have successfully abstained for 8 days. The gentle prodding or thought will tell you that 1 cigarette will not spoil your stop smoking resolve; rather, it will make u feel good. Yielding to the thought will scuttle your stop smoking ambition; quickly silence the voice and reject the suggestion by thinking of the reasons you decided to quit and the benefits attached. You can also quell the attack by taking a brisk walk,playing the piano, or just fiddling with anything you can lay hands on. This will distract you till the craving goes away.

Even though it is easy to quit smoking, we have been conditioned or programmed to believe otherwise. So, another mind technique you can use, apart from the earlier-mentioned ones, is to wake up everyday and tell yourself it is easy to quit smoking.

It’s amazing but after 4 weeks or so, your mind will start to believe it. It will start to accept it as a statement of fact. The human mind will believe whatever it is told to believe and will adjust our biological make-up and desires accordingly. When you tell yourself it is easy to quit smoking for 8 weeks, it will be very easy on the day you put out your last cigarette.

Even though they  sound too good to be true, these mind techniques work. Engage them today, you sure will have testimonies!

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When Patrick Meninga quit smoking few years back, he substituted his smoking habit with running (a form of exercise) and he has not looked back since then.

Just like Patrick used exercise to replace his love for nicotine,you can also benefit from exercise while trying to quit.

In a study at the University of Exeter, smokers who had not smoked for the past 15 hours were told to cycle for 10 minutes, and then showed smoking-related images. After their exercise session, smokers were less responsive to the smoking-related visuals and reported decreased cravings for cigarettes. Withdrawal symptoms and cigarette cravings decrease during exercise and for as long as 50 minutes afterwards.

The study, led by Kate Janse Van Rensburg, a PhD student at the University of Exeter, concluded that exercise can help people give up smoking. It went on to say that moderate exercise could be a practicable option to many of the pharmaceutical products, such as nicotine patches, for people who want to stop smoking. While stating that a 15-minute walk, cycle or jog could help when tough and strong cravings set in, the study concludes that there are many other benefits from a physically active lifestyle including higher fitness levels, improved energy and mood and weight loss.

Suffice to say, smoking cessation is easier on the body when you eat right, get rest, and exercise consistently. Physical workouts are very useful as smokers who exercise are more likely to bid their smoking habit a permanent good-bye.

This explains why I wrote about the benefits of exercise to smoking cessation a while back. This follow-up article answers the question: why is it good to start exercise before quit smoking?

So,tell me,just why is it good to start exercise before quit smoking? It’s good because some people get overwhelmed if they make too many drastic lifestyle changes all at once. While some people thrive on making several lifestyle changes at the same time, others don’t. So, it’s good to start exercising before you quit to establish your exercise routine.

If you wait till you quit smoking to start exercise, I bet you never would. This is because, at that period, you would be grappling with so many things at the same time; cigarette carvings, headache, anxiety, insomnia,et cetera and adding an exercise routine just won’t be possible but if you had started before you quit, it would have become a habit.

Aside from becoming a habit, it would help you get through the nicotine cravings easily. This is because exercise helps you to relax. It can also distract you from those cravings when they spring up.

If you screw up everything in your stop smoking journey, let it not be this suggestion to exercise. Heed to it, work on your exercise regimen. Investing an hour daily in a physical workout will pay off handsomely as you will not only be fit, breathlessness will go away,weight gain will be a thing of the past and you will have an improved mood. You will also feel energetic (don’t forget that cigarettes drain energy but exercise restores it).

This explains why exercise helps quit smoking. Smoking and exercise are two incompatible habits. If you want to do away with one, just embrace the other. I believe this makes common sense.

Before you start exercising, please consult your doctor. Once you have your physician’s clearance, start with small exercise routines, like walking briskly around the house. You can start exercising for 30 minutes initially,you can then move it up as your body adjusts to your routine. Please note that you must break a sweat from any exercise you do as that is the only way to get optimal benefits from the exercise.

So, right before you quit, start walking every single day, without any exceptions. Commit to walking for an hour every day. If you initially can’t walk very fast, that is okay. Just stay true to your every-day-walking-plan and choose a date to quit smoking cold turkey within a few weeks. While looking forward to your quit date, keep walking every day and make it brisk so you can break a sweat. This is vital. You are going to need the boost in endorphins every day after you quit smoking.

By nature, human beings are lazy, just don’t get into this laziness trap as it will put paid to your desire to stop smoking. Force yourself to get up and do any exercise that will assist your stop smoking journey. Initially, it’s going to be tough but stay there,your body will soon get accustomed to it. Don’t also give me the ‘I-walk-to-work-everyday’ excuse for not exercising as walking is not a substitute for exercise. Vigorous exercise is essential as it will make you sweat out the toxins and also feel good.

Aside walking,other cardiovascular activities such as running, cycling and dancing can be of immense benefit as they would boost your breathing rate,increase your blood circulation and make your heart beat faster. But like I earlier said, start your exercise regimen with little steps and push your body to go higher. It’s rewarding and fulfilling. What’s more, you’ll be nicotine-free, at the end of the day.

If you still smoke as you read this, start exercising from today and plan towards quitting in a few weeks. Commit to your every day exercise and quit cold turkey. After quitting, drink lots of water and juice to cleanse your system of the toxins and nicotine that have accumulated as a result of many years of smoking.

If you feel you can’t exercise consistently alone, join a gym or pair up with a friend. Just do anything that requires to be done to become nicotine-free. Also,do exercises that excite you. Engaging in boring exercises can make you hate exercise times, so, choose carefully and choose, based on what you love and can commit to.

Even though, it’s often overlooked, exercise is a very simple secret weapon that can assist you to quit smoking. It’s a healthy alternative to smoking, it can take your mind off your cravings, it can help your mood and energy level, and it can help keep off extra weight. If you are new to exercising, start slowly. You will take it up a notch, from there. By all means, let exercise or physical work outs be in your stop smoking arsenal. As soldiers never go to war without a gun, never embark on your smoking cessation journey without it. A word to the wise, they say, is enough!

Related posts:

1. Benefits of Exercise on Quitting Smoking

Desperate to quit smoking but can’t get a hang of it? These 6 journalistic questions (who,what,why,where,when and how-popularly known as the 5Ws and H-will help you).

The 5Ws and H of reporting a news story remind me so much of my days as a journalist. Then, if I had to report an event, I had to have the following: what happened,where it happened,when it happened,why it happened,who it happened to and how it happened. Those were really exciting days as the love for the job drove us all over the country,nosing around for news.

And that is why I write this post with a lot of nostalgia as I have found a co-relation between the 5Ws and H and smoking cessation. Yes,the 6 journalistic questions can help you stop smoking. Okay,just take a look.

*who should quit-YOU. And as we talk about YOU quitting, chances are, you are asking yourself: who am I? Chances are you’ll say I am a smoker trying to drop off cigarettes but that’s not the real you. Shocking? The real you is a smoker who wants to keep smoking because voices in your subconscious are telling you 101 reasons to continue smoking,that is,it relieves stress,makes you socially acceptable,that’s the real you and until you reprogram your mind,I am afraid you won’t be able to stop smoking.

*when to quit-NOW. Former U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson said “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” Cessation experts also say your body begins to recover the moment you put out your last cigarette, so, why don’t you kick start your nicotine addiction recovery by dropping off cigarettes NOW! Just take a look at the immense benefits your body will enjoy once you kick the smoking habit.

Just 20 minutes after dropping off cigarettes,experts say your heart beat rate and blood pressure will drop substantially. 12 hours after, it will be the turn of the carbon monoxide level in your blood to drop to normal. Between 14 days and 12 weeks after quitting, your blood circulation and lung function will improve drastically while coughing and shortness of breath will decrease 1 to 9 months after smoking cessation.1 year after quitting,the extra risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker’s. Before you realize it, your body will start looking and functioning like that of a non-smoker. I dare say that the benefits are too immense to continue smoking. Quit smoking but quit smoking NOW!

*where to quit- YOU have to quit smoking everywhere. There shouldn’t be any case of social smoking,there shouldn’t be any case of ‘I don’t smoke around my kids but I smoke in the midst of my friends’. If you say YOU have quit smoking,quit smoking everywhere. Don’t hide cigarettes in your pocket and smoke at work. It’s dishonest and doesn’t help you at all.

*what to do-Quit Smoking. According to the fourth W, you should quit smoking. People say it’s hard but do it for your health, wife, kids, society and environment. If you quit smoking, you will do society,your family and the environment a great favour as second-hand smoking is a killer. Help the environment, society and people around you!!! Save them and you will be greatly rewarded. Read more about the short term benefits of smoking cessation as well as the general benefits of quit smoking.

*why quit- Because you can!!! Yes, quit smoking because you can. Despite all that’s been said and done about smoking cessation, statistics reveal that people are quitting on a yearly basis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) said approximately 52% of smokers attempted to quit in 2010. Now, that’s a huge percentage of the smoking population,you can as well join them.

Also, quit because smokers can and do die young. They do contract heart problems, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and the big C (lung, oesophagus, mouth, hand and all other forms of cancer). Quit because your skin is being destroyed by smoking and your finances are suffering from buying cigarettes. Quit because your blood circulation is gravely affected-smoking limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your organs and other parts of your body. Also, quit because you can contract bronchitis and cough. Quit because of the social stigma currently being experienced by smokers; with smoking being banned on flights and other public places. You can read more about:

* The reasons for smoking cessation

* The health risks of smoking-cessation

* The effects of smoking

*how to quit- there are many treatment methods, ranging from cold turkey, NRT, acupuncture, hypnosis, laser treatment, behaviour therapy, self help therapies,smoking medication, to natural remedies and many others.

Whichever method you will use has to be decided by your personal physician and you. Seek his or her advice. Also note that no 2 quit attempts can be the same. The fact that a friend used the patch to stop smoking doesn’t mean it will work for you. Quitting is individualistic, so, seek out the quit methods that will work best for you.

Some smokers will use a combination of methods to attain success while some will use just one method. The onus is therefore on you to seek out the methods that will work for you but if you can find a way to push yourself to develop as a person in recuperation, you might not need a program or combination of programs at all. The best solution for recovery from nicotine addiction is long term, uninterrupted comprehensive growth. You can find this path on your own if you truly seek it.

However,2stopsmokingtips.com recommends the cold turkey quit smoking method and the reason is: it’s the most effective of all the quit smoking methods.

See what Allen Carr says about cold turkey quitting in his book: The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.

There you have it: the 5ws and H of quit smoking. Use it to get out of the prison of nicotine addiction. If you really want to, you can be free, starting from this moment. The only person standing between YOU and nicotine addiction is YOU! Get your freedom, determine to quit smoking today!

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It’s no longer news that smoking during pregnancy is harmful to both mother and child. It ‘s also not news that the number of women who smoke during pregnancy is on the rise.

According to the National Partnership to Help Pregnant Smokers Quit, “12 to 20 percent of women smoke during pregnancy, putting mothers and babies at risk for complications such as premature birth, low birth weight, or miscarriage.” It goes on to say that over a thousand babies die every year in the United States of America because their mothers smoked cigarettes during pregnancy.

In the same vein, a July 2009 Kids Count report reveals that the percentage of women who smoked while pregnant rose from 18.3% in 2003 to 20% in 2007. The findings were collected by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

In yet another report,the 2008 Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (PRAMS) data from 29 states in the U.S. reveals that

* close to 13% of women confessed to smoking during the last 3 months of pregnancy.

* 45% of women who smoked cigarettes 3 months before pregnancy quit during pregnancy. Sadly,50% of the women who stopped smoking during pregnancy went back to cigarettes within 6 months of giving birth.

Interestingly, smoking remains the single most preventable cause of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes in the U.S. The Western Journal of Medicine says it accounts for 20% of children born with low birth weights, 8% of premature births, and 5% of all postnatal deaths.

To make matters worse, new studies have discovered that smoking during pregnancy brings about sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) as well as vital alterations in fetal brain and nervous system development.

Due to these dangers,pregnant women have to quit smoking fast. But how can they quit? What treatment options are available to them? How safe are these treatment options for mother and child?

One of the treatment options is nicotine replacement therapies but a research this year says it might no longer be effective for pregnant smokers.

The study,which appears in the March 1,2012 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, is said to be the largest clinical trial ever to examine the use of nicotine patches during pregnancy. It reportedly found little evidence that the treatment helps pregnant women drop off cigarettes.

The research team, led by Tim Coleman, MD, of the University of Nottingham in the UK, concluded that standard-dose nicotine replacement therapy is not a useful strategy for helping pregnant women achieve non-smoking status. The team also mentioned that it’s not clear if nicotine replacement is totally safe for pregnant women so it shouldn’t be recommended to women who are pregnant. The study examined the efficacy and safety of nicotine patches during pregnancy.

One thing pregnant women should do is to get support and advice about quitting from qualified medical personnel. Evidence shows that counseling by qualified health professionals can double quit rates for pregnant women.

According to a Cochrane Summary, “interventions offered to promote smoking cessation in pregnancy are generally given individually and include cognitive behaviour and motivational interviewing; offering incentives; interventions based on stages of change; giving feedback to the mothers on fetal health status or nicotine by-products measurements; nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion or other medications.”

* Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a psychiatric technique that combines two approaches; cognitive and behavior therapies. Generally considered a short-term form of psychotherapy,it concentrates on singling out negative thoughts and developing new ways of thinking about situations. For pregnant women who want to stop smoking, cognitive behavior therapy may be the way out. Suffice to say,behavioral therapy has been shown to be an effective stop smoking strategy and experts advise pregnant smokers to seek out quality behavioral treatments to help them kick the habit.

* Motivational Interviewing is a guiding patient-centred style of counselling, fashioned to help people to resolve ambivalence about behaviour change. It was developed as a treatment for alcohol abuse, but can help smokers to make a successful quit attempt. It has evolved and been refined since its original publication as an approach to behavior change.

To ascertain the effectiveness of motivational interviewing on stop smoking in pregnant women,an intervention study was conducted between December 2007 and June 2008. 38 pregnant and educated women who were smoking a minimum of one cigarette per day and had not reached their 4^th month of pregnancy participated in the research at the prenatal unit of a public hospital. A total of 8 home visits was made for each participating woman with 12- to 13-day intervals between visits; 5 visits were for intervention, with 3 follow-up visits at 1-month intervals.

The study was hugely successful as a total of 39.5% of pregnant smokers dropped off cigarettes; a further 44.7% decreased their smoking by 60% from their starting rate. The rate of second-hand smoking before the intervention (86.8%) reduced to 55.3%.

The study concluded that similar programs by nurses and midwives working in primary health care and antenatal settings should be developed and applied.

* Offering incentives like cash, free classes and medical insurance discounts has been successfully used by companies to prompt employees to quit smoking. Pregnant women have also warmed up to the idea according to this Cochrane Summary.

* Stop smoking aids like Zyban, Chantix and NRTs were not mentioned because their safety for use by pregnant women has not been established.

At present, there are few safety and efficacy studies on the use of NRT with pregnant women. In 1991, Neal L. Benowitz, MD concluded that the benefits of NRT in helping patients quit during pregnancy outweighed the risk of smoking for many patients who cannot stop after the provision of behavioral therapy. Read more about stop smoking medication for pregnant women.

Having said the above,I want to say that pregnant smokers who want to quit should do the following:

* Involve their doctors every step of the way. Their advice and support is invaluable to the quitting process. Plus,they will be on hand to handle any side effects that may arise during the quit procedure.

* Stay busy and get moderate exercise to rid their mind of cravings.

* Chose a “quit day” and throw out all cigarettes, lighters, and ashtrays on that date. Make sure you plan how to cope with the side effects before your “quit day” arrives.

* Avoid places,events and activities connected with smoking.If your partner smokes,encourage him to quit at the same time. It will be beneficial to both of you and the baby.

* Ask a friend or partner for help, and talk to them when you feel like smoking. You can also make such a friend,your accountability partner.

* Each craving lasts a few minutes. Use the 6Ds – delay smoking, distract yourself, deep breathe, drink water, ditch stressful situations and do something else.

Successful quit smoking during pregnancy requires the right information and attitude. Discover how to quit permanently using the best stop smoking book of all time.

Frequently Asked Questions About Quitting When You are Pregnant

Q: When should I quit smoking as a pregnant woman?

A: Quit the very moment you discover you are pregnant.

Q: Am already four months gone,what’s the point of quitting now? The damage is already done.

A: Most of the baby’s growth happens later in pregnancy, so, it is never too late to quit. For instance, if you quit today, your risk of having a low-weight or pre-term baby will be similar to that of a woman who has never smoked before. Quitting at any period during pregnancy brings down the risk of harm to your baby. However, planning to quit as early as you can means a better start to life for your baby.

Q:What if I find smoking irresistible and slip while trying to quit?

A: For starters,don’t try to quit;just quit and if you slip and smoke a cigarette,don’t allow that to make you abandon your quit attempt. A slip-up is a temporary setback, not a failure.

Q: Can I use medication to quit?

A: Involve your doctor in every quitting decision you make. His advice would be invaluable at this period.

* Successful quit smoking during pregnancy requires the right information and attitude. Discover how to quit permanently using the best stop smoking book of all time.

* Read more about the effects of smoking during pregnancy.

Before I go, let me quickly ask if you have seen the latest study linking pregnancy smoking with having children with high functioning autism? If you have not seen it, let me quickly give you details. The study was conducted by researchers involved in the U.S. autism surveillance program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC). It was to determine the association between smoking and autism and was published April 25,2012 online by the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Preliminary findings revealed that women who smoke during pregnancy may be more likely to have a child with high-functioning autism, such as Asperger’s Disorder.

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For some years now, hypnosis has been employed for resolving life issues such as obesity, drug and alcohol addiction,pain and stress management, grief resolution,cigarette smoking and so many others.

This explains why we earlier posted an article on how to stop smoking by hypnosis. Since that article was published,many people have been asking how effective hypnosis for stop smoking is and whether there are scientific studies backing it up.

Of a truth,many studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of hypnosis for smoking cessation;we shall examine a few of them below:

An October 1992 study listed hypnosis as the most effective way to stop smoking. Said to be the largest study ever scientific comparison of methods of kicking the habit, the research team (Frank Schmidt and research student,Chockalingam Viswesvaran of the University of Iowa) were on a mission to determine the most potent way to quit smoking.

To achieve their objective,the team used a meta-analysis, employing the results of more than 600 studies totaling nearly 72,000 people. The results, which were published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and included 48 studies of hypnosis covering 6000 smokers, clearly gave hypnosis the pass mark, claiming it was three times more effective than NRT (nicotine replacement therapies) and 15 times as effective as trying to quit alone.

In 2001, yet another study gave hypnosis for smoking cessation a 90.6% Success Rate. During the research, hypnotic methods were integrated with a rapid smoking treatment protocol. Of 43 consecutive patients receiving this treatment protocol, 39 reported remaining abstinent from tobacco use at follow-up (6 months to 3 years after treatment). This represents a 90.6% success rate using hypnosis.

The results of this study (co-ordinated by Joseph Barber of the University of Washington School of Medicine, Departments of Anesthesiology and Rehabilitation Medicine), was published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis in July 2001, under the title:Freedom from smoking: integrating hypnotic methods and rapid smoking to facilitate smoking cessation.

Hypnotists who were reveling over the 90.6 success rate study got their bubble burst when another research with a dissenting voice was conducted and published. It stated mater of factly that hypnosis as a stop smoking therapy needs further investigation.

According to the research, which appears in the May,2000 edition of International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, smokers who want to quit with hypnosis should tread with caution.

The researchers (Joseph P. Green, associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University’s Lima campus and Steven Jay Lynn, of the State University of New York at Binghamton) examined 56 studies of hypnosis and quit smoking to ascertain if the investigation empirically supports hypnosis as a treatment.

Even though they concluded that smokers who go through hypnosis had a higher abstinence rate than smokers who had no intervention, it was difficult to ascertain if hypnosis had any benefit above other treatments – such as behavior modification – that were often of appreciable benefit to smokers desirous to quit.

While stating that it was premature to approve hypnosis as a well-accepted treatment for smoking cessation,Green noted that often times,hypnosis is combined with other, more all-embracing treatments, and this makes it very difficult to ascertain which individual therapy got the smoker to drop off cigarettes.

He also mentioned non-standardisation of hypnotic processes as a huge challenge;“across the studies, hypnosis treatments varied in the types of questions that were asked; the number of treatments each subject underwent; and the inclusion of other smoking-cessation interventions.”

While concluding that there is little or practically no reason to believe that hypnosis is any more effective than other approaches to smoking cessation (including but not limited to self-help therapy, taking medication, using nicotine replacement therapies, acupuncture, as well as individual and group counseling), Green says smokers who want to quit should be offered a potpourri of potentially effective treatments and left to make the choice that best suits them.

As if that was not enough,a Cochrane Review published October 2010,under the title: Does hypnotherapy help people who are trying to stop smoking, concluded; “although it is possible that hypnotherapy could be as effective as counselling treatment, there is not enough good evidence to be certain of this. We have not shown that hypnotherapy has a greater effect on six-month quit rates than other interventions or no treatment.”

Where does all these leave us? What do we do in this age and time when all you see are adverts promising you a one-time success with hypnosis for stop smoking? Just one thing – tread with caution. This is because:

* we believe there should be a standardised procedure for hypnosis in treating smoking addiction

* we believe hypnosis can only be called an effective way to quit smoking if it can stand alone and not be combined with other comprehensive treatments

* we believe will power (which is absent in hypnosis) is highly needed for stop smoking

We can go on and on but the bottom line is; tread with caution when it comes to using hypnosis to quit smoking. We are not saying it is not effective, all we are saying is be careful and do your due diligence before committing to it!!!

Read more about hypnosis to stop smoking in Paul Mckenna’s Book titled Quit Smoking Today without Gaining Weight.

Related posts:

1. Stop Smoking by Hypnosis – How to Quit Smoking By Hypnotherapy

You don’t have to wait months or years to see some of the benefits of quitting. Research has revealed that some of the benefits of quitting smoking are almost immediate and that your body begins to fix itself few minutes after your last cigarette and continues in the years that follow. This article will examine some studies on the short term benefits of smoking cessation and discuss their conclusions.

Short term benefit no 1: Your breathing can feel better and you will have fewer respiratory problems

This benefit is buttressed by a study published February,2012. The study reveals that coughing and other respiratory challenges get better within weeks of quit smoking. The research, published in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a quarterly peer-reviewed journal, stated specifically that 18 to 24-year olds who stop smoking for at least 14 days report significantly fewer respiratory indications, particularly coughing.

A research team comprising Karen Calabro, DrPH and Alexander Prokhorov, MD, PhD, from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center,Houston, analyzed self-reported respiratory indications among two groups of college students who smoked 5-10 cigarettes a day for 1-5 years. One group dropped off cigarettes for 14 days or longer and the other group failed to quit smoking.

Harold Farber, MD, MSPH, Editor of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Pulmonology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX lauded the fact that the benefit of stopping smoking begins in days to weeks–not years or decades. While stressing that health care providers can counsel young smokers that their breathing can be better soon after they quit, Harold said, “this can help to motivate young adults to stop smoking before the severe damage is done.”

Short term benefit no 2: You will be happier and contented with your health.

This benefit is supported by a study which examines life after cigarettes, and concludes that quitters are both happier and contented with their health. The research,which focused on whether smoking cessation can improve the psychological well-being of quitters, was published online Dec. 9, 2011 in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Smokers have strong beliefs about how smoking cessation will reduce their quality of life (disrupts routines, interferes with relationships, leads to a loss of smoking-related pleasure), but this research reveals that life without cigarettes is not all gloomy. In fact, successful quitters are more satisfied with their lives and feel healthier, both one year and three years afterwards, than those who continue to smoke.

Overall, this new research by Dr. Megan Piper, from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in the US, and her team provides substantial evidence that quitting smoking benefits well-being compared to continuing smoking.

Short term benefit no 3: Quit smoking will aid your everyday memory

Aside being good for your health, smoking cessation is also good for your memory. And this is coming straight from Northumbria University. A research published in the September,2011 online edition of Drug and Alcohol Dependence reveals thatsmoking cessation can rejuvenate everyday memory to virtually the same level as people who had never smoked before. Academics from the Collaboration for Drug and Alcohol Research Group at Northumbria University tested 27 smokers, 18 former smokers and 24 who had never smoked on a real-world retention test.

Participants were asked to recollect pre-scheduled tasks at specific locations on a tour of a university campus. Smokers performed woefully, recollecting just 59% of tasks, while those who had quit smoking remembered 74% of their mandatory tasks. Those who had never smoked remembered 81% of tasks,making them the clear leader of the pack.

Even though we are aware of the huge health benefits smoking cessation brings to the human body,this study also reveals how quitting smoking can be beneficial to everyday memory.

Short term benefit no 4: Smoking cessation improves personality change

University of Missouri researchers have discovered that those who cease smoking show improvements in their entire personality.

The research,which focused on smokers aged 18-35, revealed that the category of people who stop smoking in that age group showed significant drops in impulsivity and neuroticism, two distinct personality traits that are usually connected with young adulthood. Impulsivity refers to doing things without thinking about the effects while neuroticism means being emotionally pessimistic and nervous, most of the time.

The study, “Smoking Desistance and Personality Change in Emerging and Young Adulthood,” has been accepted by the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research. The study was co-authored by Kenneth J. Sher, a professor in the MU Department of Psychology.

Short term benefit no 5: Smoking cessation leads to an improvement in sexual function

If you’re an adult male,your sexual function will get better. This is because stop smoking has an immediate effect on sexual response. This is aside the long-term effects of quit smoking on impotence.

In a study conducted by Dr. Mitchell Edson, a urologist in Washington, D.C.,twenty impotent men who smoke heavily were put under observation. Usually, the male gender have regular erections during sleep, but these men did not, signaling that the issue was physical and not mental. Six weeks after they dropped off cigarettes, seven of these men started experiencing steady nocturnal sexual arousal.

Other Short term benefits of quit smoking:

*You smell nice. You don’t have to worry about smelling like an old ash tray.

*You feel better about yourself as a person because you’re taking care of your body.

*You save a lot of money (cigarettes are more expensive now because of the taxes imposed on them).

*No nicotine stained teeth or fingers.

* Nerve endings start to regrow. Food will taste and smell better to you.

*You don’t have to keep leaving a warm restaurant to smoke outside because of the ban on public smoking. As you are aware, smoking has been banned on most American flights and work areas. So, if you want to smoke,you might have to dash to the restroom or something,but when you quit,you no longer have to go through that.

* You have more overall energy and are better able to enjoy life. Everyday activities like climbing the stairs or doing light housework will not leave you gasping for breath.

Can you just imagine enjoying all these short term benefits of stop smoking in a short while after smoking your last cigarette? I tell you,these benefits are too good to pass off and if you are thinking it’s too late for you to quit,let me just say it’s never too late. Quit smoking today and enjoy all these immediate benefits as well as the long term ones.

Read a more detailed article on quit smoking benefits here.

Read Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking

No related posts.

Many people are asking if it’s safe to quit smoking with Bupropion (pronounced byoo PROE pee on) and commonly known as Zyban. They are afraid the medication will cause them ugly side effects and even suicidal tendencies. In this article,we are going to discuss Zyban, its stop smoking qualities, side effects and success rates.

We are also going to look at the reported effectiveness of the drug, real-life horrifying experiences with Zyban as well as stories of people who died while using the drug.

Hopefully,after reading this article,you will be able to make an informed decision as to use Zyban to cease smoking or not.

Buproprion hydrochloride is a prescription medication manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. It is marketed under the brand names Wellbutrin and Wellbutrin SR (for depression) and Zyban SR (for smoking cessation). Zyban does not contain nicotine and is thought to affect chemicals in the brain that are related to nicotine craving, thereby decreasing the urge to smoke. Zyban comes in a pill form and is designed to help smokers quit smoking gradually. Even though it is available by prescription, you must be over 18 years of age to use Zyban.

It is interesting to note that Zyban was first made to treat depression, but was then found to be useful in smoking cessation. It was therefore approved for use as a stop smoking aid in May 1997 by the FDA in the US. In the UK, Zyban was licensed for use as an anti-smoking drug in June 2000.

How Does Zyban Work

Zyban works differently from the nicotine patch,gum or lozenge. Rather than deliver nicotine to the bloodstream, Zyban allegedly alters brain chemistry in a way that the urge for smoking is greatly decreased. Many smokers reportedly find that cigarettes grow to be unattractive right after taking the pill.

Even though it is known to change brain hormonal balance, researchers aren’t even particularly sure how it works but we can safely say it battles nicotine cravings.

Zyban sustained release tablets are supposed to be taken in a daily 150 mg dose for 3 days, then 300 mg thereafter, for a total treatment period of 7-12 weeks. A user is supposed to stop smoking within the first 14 days of use and also separate dose intervals by at least 8 hours. Zyban can allegedly be combined with nicotine replacement therapy like patches or gum.

Does Zyban Work for Stop Smoking?

A British Medical Journal article reveals that Zyban is effective when given in association with intensive behavioural support.

Further,the article stated: “Bupropion is as effective as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and like NRT, leads to a near doubling of the smoking cessation rate, achieving long term abstinence in 19% of smokers who use it to quit. Like NRT, however, bupropion therapy probably increases the chance of success with any quit attempt but is most effective when combined with intensive behavioural support.”

A report in the New England Journal of Medicine found that “almost 30.3% (one in three people) treated with Zyban were not smoking after one year, compared to 16.4 percent of people using a nicotine patch. Zyban was thereby found to be almost twice as effective as a nicotine patch in helping people to quit smoking.”

But the Action on Smoking and Health(ASH) disagreed with this claim on the grounds that it was too premature as it was based on a single study. Quoting Clive Bates, Director of ASH, the publication stated: “Zyban is an effective anti-smoking treatment, and that the first studies show very promising success rates. But until more studies have been done, it is too soon to be making comparisons between NRT and Zyban. Both products have an important role to play and will meet smokers’ needs in different ways. The products may also be most effective when used in combination.”

What are the Side Effects of Zyban?

Despite its reported effectiveness, Zyban has side effects but this varies from individual to individual. The way the medication will react in Mr A, might not be the same as that of Mr B.

According to EmedTV, common Zyban side effects include insomnia,dry mouth,dizziness,nausea,unusual dreams and joint pain while the more serious side effects include seizures,suicidal thoughts or behavior,hallucinations,hostility and chest palpitations.

Due to these side effects and public outcry, the FDA in July 2009, announced that manufacturers of Zyban and Chantix must post warnings that alert health care providers about changes in behavior that may occur for patients using these drugs.

You can read more about the FDA’s warning on these 2 drugs.

For more information on Zyban side effects, kindly read these experiences of Zyban users.

* Charlie Brooker’s experience with Zyban.

* Christopher’s horrifying experience with Zyban.

* Daily Mail’s chronicle of nasty experiences with Zyban.

* Forces International’s catalogue of Zyban deaths and awful experiences.

Aside these horrifying experiences,some Zyban users allegedly died during usage and a BBC News Report in January,2002,reveals that 57 people had died following suspected harmful reactions to the drug, compared to 18 that died by January,2001.

That statistic was as far as 2001,when the drug was newly introduced. As we write in 2012,the figures are frightening and one wonders what the regulatory bodies are doing?

Talking about Zyban deaths, Nick Hirst, 18, was said to have committed suicide after taking Zyban. Nick, a first-year student at Nottingham Trent University, wanted to stop smoking to improve his fitness for rugby. Nick, who hails from Prestbury, Cheshire, took the drug for a week,then stopped because he had felt an immediate “change within himself” and suffered bouts of depression. Six months later, in May 2001, he was found hanging from a tree in Riverside Park in Macclesfield.

Pronto, an inquest was instituted to unravel the circumstances surrounding Nick’s suicide. After listening to all sides of the matter, Cheshire coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said the use of Zyban may have been one of the factors in the death of the 18-year-old. In a statement released after the verdict, Mr Hirst’s family said: “We hope this inquest will raise public awareness about the potential dangers of Zyban.”

Even though GlaxoSmithKline offered its condolences to Nick’s family,it went ahead to affirm its confidence in Zyban’s ability to help smokers quit.

It is sad to note that 15 months after Nick’s tragic death,his father allegedly died of a broken heart. Adrian Hirst, who battled with his family to prove that the student’s death was caused by taking Zyban, suffered a stroke created by the stress of his son’s traumatic death, his widow revealed.

In yet another sad event, GlaxoSmithKline, manufacturers of Zyban, admitted April 25,2001 that the anti-smoking drug was suspected of causing harmful responses in 35 people who have died in the UK since it was introduced June,2000.

The admission came at the inquest of Kerry Weston, a 21-year-old British Airways air stewardess who was discovered dead in a Nairobi, Kenya- hotel room in January, 2001,14 days after she started using the drug to help her kick her 15-cigarettes-a-day habit.

Reports say she was prescribed the drug by the British Airways cabin crew GP, Dr Mark Andrew after she requested help with quitting her smoking habit. Not long after, Ms Weston flew to Nairobi but was later found dead in her hotel room.

Later, a coroner ruled that the drug had played a part in the death of the air hostess. The British Government then imposed tighter controls on the use of the pill with other medication.

The British Government also went ahead to institute a Government inquiry into the controversial anti-smoking pill but campaigners against Zyban were allegedly not represented at the hearing.

A Mail on Sunday investigation revealed that campaigners against the drug were not asked to submit evidence despite that fact that backers of the drug – including its makers, Glaxo-SmithKline, and the Department of Health – were asked to submit evidence.

Campaigners worried about the 57 British deaths connected to the drug and the 7,297 users who had suffered suspected side-effects, including chest pains, fits, seizures and depression, were not contacted.

 In a reaction,Ms Weston’s dad, Eddie said he had not been contacted. Claiming it was a one-sided and rubber-stamping exercise, he submitted “everything that happens seems to be totally biased in favour of the drugs companies. Not having all views represented is going to taint the final decision.”

In September, 2001,doctors in Germany linked Zyban to 4 deaths. “Two were suicides and the remaining two were heart attacks,” Ulrich Hagemann, of Germany’s Institute for Medicines, told Reuters.

In Denmark, the Danish Medicines Agency is said to have received reports on possible side effects from 480 persons who used Zyban and Champix in the period 2001-2011. Eight of these reports involved deaths – four from use of Zyban and four from Champix. The Danish Medicines Agency claims that it is highly unlikely or improbable that any of the eight deaths are due to the medicine.

In Australia,it’s the same situation as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation quoted authorities at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital as saying at least one person a week is admitted suffering from side effects after using the drug.

While there are few, if any media reports on the adverse reactions to Zyban in the U.S,Forbes reports in 2009 that there were 14 suicides and 17 attempts. FDA officials say that the reason for the big inequality in how many suicides were reported might be partly the result of all the bad publicity Chantix has received, as well as the fact that Zyban is used less often.

And for most people who didn’t die from Zyban usage,it’s a case of permanent disability. One of such people is Lorraine Vallery who currently suffers a depression and pounding headache which she did not have before using Zyban.

In a chat with the Daily Mail, Lorraine reveals that throbbing headaches were penetrating deeper into her brain, sending out a message to commit suicide or hurt her children. She would therefore lock herself in the bathroom as a defence against killing her own children.

But Lorraine wasn’t always like that. She was a cheerful and outgoing mother but she desperately wanted to quit her 20-cigarettes-a-day habit. She decided to take Zyban. But three years later, she feels her life has been ruined by the drug.

A investigation published in 2010 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology also suggested that women who take Zyban during early pregnancy run a greater risk for having a baby born with a heart birth defect.

 Is is safe to stop smoking with Zyban?

Considering the extreme side effects that come with Zyban usage,is it safe to stop smoking with it? Of a truth, there isn’t a clear cut answer to this question. However, it’s worth noting that these likely side effects are very grave, and they can cause severe damage to you if they should happen.

One question to ask yourself before deciding to use Zyban is: do the benefits far outweigh the risks? Is there an alternative way to quit smoking without suffering the horrors of Zyban? On our part,we believe you should give cold turkey quit smoking a chance. And even if you don’t quit the first time, try again. The fact that you failed before does not mean you should not try again. And if you are being sold the it’s hard-to-quit-smoking-cold-turkey-candy,just read this,coming from experts:

“Of quitters polled, 59 percent quit ‘cold turkey,’ while 11 percent used nicotine replacement therapy.” “Attitudes and Behaviors Related to Smoking Cessation: A Survey of Current and Former Smokers,” Gallup poll released Oct. 20, 1998. The poll also found that only 36 percent of current smokers are very interested in quitting.

Need we say more?

NB: We highly suggest you read Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking Book, it will educate and help you quit. Many people who have read the book have successful quit. You can too! Get the book here.

If you want a review of the book, kindly read it below:

* Allen Carr’s Stop Smoking Book

* Best Quit Smoking Book

For more on cold turkey quitting,please click on the links below:

* How to Quit Smoking Cold Turkey

* Effectiveness of Cold Turkey Quitting

* Calendar for Quit Smoking Cold Turkey

No related posts.

Fresh facts indicate that cold turkey quitting is the most effective way to stop smoking. And this is coming straight from experts who conducted a landmark study first published online as a Review in the January 3, 2012 edition of the Annual Review of Public Health. This research makes mockery of the United States’ overall approach to quit smoking.

Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking

The policy at the moment emphasizes the use of pharmaceutical cessation aids (such as Zyban, Chantix and NRTs) as well as quitlines through which telephone coaching can be conducted to help smokers quit. The two leading quitline coaching and counseling service providers are the American Cancer Society as well as Free & Clear. Due to the current policy, a lot of money has been expended on these two areas. Existing medical procedures, as well as government recommendation for quit smoking, are based on the idea that all smokers should be treated with pharmaceutical aids.

Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking

But this recent research disagrees with the policy. Without mincing words, the study stated that despite the general use of quitlines, pharmaceutical drugs and NRT, smoking cessation rates have not improved. It goes ahead to say that quitting cold turkey is still the most effective way to stop smoking.

Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking

In the report titled: Quitlines and Nicotine Replacement for Smoking Cessation: Do We Need to Change Policy?, the researchers stated that “some policies actively discourage unassisted smoking cessation despite the documented high success rates of this approach. There is an urgent need to revisit public policy on smoking cessation.”

The research, led by professor of family and preventive medicine, John P. Pierce, analyzed studies of nicotine and tobacco dependence carried out in the last 2 decades. Other members of the research team were Sharon E. Cummins, Martha M. White, Aimee Humphrey, and Karen Messer.

The study focused on the efficacy of the nicotine gum, the patch as well as pharmaceutical drugs, and concluded that they have not been successful for real-life quitting. Despite the fact that these drugs and aids are successful in clinical trials, the report says the results do not show an increase in the rate of successful quitters.

Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking

Right after this study appeared online, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Massachusetts; Boston came up with a report that stated matter-of-factly that nicotine replacement therapies don’t work in helping people quit smoking.

This prompted our earlier article questioning the effectiveness or otherwise of nicotine replacement therapies.

An American Cancer Society report in 2003 found that over 91.4% of long-term ex-smokers quit smoking unassisted (cold turkey). They did it entirely on their own and without spending a dime: they neither purchased nor used the patch, gum, inhaler, Zyban, Chantix, Lozenge, Laser therapy, hypnosis, you just name it!

According to the Cancer Facts and Figures, 2003, less than 6.8% of the individuals that took part in the study successfully stopped smoking using NRT.

It is therefore amazing that in the same report, the American Cancer Society approves the use of NRT even though the report reveals that NRT is not as effective as cold turkey cessation. “Although patients often relapse and require repeated interventions…All patients attempting to quit should be encouraged to use effective pharmacotherapy except in the presence of specific contraindications.” (Cancer Facts and Figures, 2003)

Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking

Earlier, an Australian study, published in the May 2006 issue of Addictive Behaviors, inferred that cold turkey quitting has the highest success rate.

The survey analyzed smoking patients of 1,000 family practice physicians and discovered that winning cold turkey quitters accounted for 1,942 of 2,207 ex-smokers, a massive 88% of all success stories.

During this study, numerous stop smoking methods were compared and all NRT therapies attained less than 10% effectiveness and had the highest rate of relapse. Herbal remedies and hypnosis even beat NRT pants down,by scoring higher than 10%.

But this cheery news about cold turkey quitting doesn’t get celebrated in the news as much as NRT. The ‘almighty’ pharmaceutical industry would have us believe NRT doubles our chances of quitting. Millions of dollars are being spent daily to drum this into the minds of smokers and that is why you get to hear ‘it’s hard to quit’ most of the time.

At 2stopsmokingtips.com,we don’t buy into that assertion at all. We have said it several times that quitting smoking is not hard if you reprogram your mind (by changing the way you think about cigarettes),prepare by reading up all you can about smoking cessation,choose a quit date,have a plan to counter nicotine withdrawal symptoms,especially for the first 72 hours after your last cigarette(when it’s most severe) and just drop off cigarettes. It sounds simple,but really,that is what it is.

For a long time, researches have made us believe going the NRT route is the most effective way to stop smoking but recent researches are countering that. We believe it’s just a matter of time;the truth will eventually prevail!

All Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking

January 2012, one of the campaigns meant to put cold turkey quitting in the bad light was launched by Pfizer Incorporated. It was tagged “Don’t Go Cold Turkey” campaign and was meant to encourage smokers to seek help from healthcare professionals and get pharmaceutical aid(like NRT, Chantix or Zyban) before quitting smoking.

To send out its message loud and clear, Pfizer partnered with local NHS Stop Smoking Services to do a national road show and teamed with Actress and Loose Women presenter, Lisa Maxwell who went on the air-waves to talk about her own experience of quitting smoking.

It is understandable that Pfizer would do this. It’s a company that is after huge profits and free cold turkey quitting can’t offer them that, so, why should they promote it above NRT, Chantix or Zyban? Now,tell me,why should they promote a method of smoking that is quick, without charge, secure and efficient when they can promote pharmaceutical aids to haul in billions of dollars in profits? Why should they? Just why should they promote cold turkey quitting that makes no political campaign contributions? Just why should they?

The truth is: they just won’t and that is why they are busy bombarding smokers with 2 major false assertions: the first one is that few smokers effectively quit unassisted, and the second is that their smoking aids functioned well, if not better than real cold turkey quitting. This is a bunch of lies as cold turkey quitting is the most effective and productive method of quitting.

At least,the John P. Pierce-led research on the Quitlines and Nicotine Replacement for Smoking Cessation lends credence to that fact.

But, Pfizer, in its research,to launch the “Don’t Go Cold Turkey” campaign claims cold turkey quitting accounts for just 3% of successful ex-smokers after 12 months.

This Pfizer revelation came after researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Massachusetts Boston published a report to the effect that Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) are not effective in helping smokers quit in the long run, even when combined with stop smoking counseling.

In the same vein, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation report quotes Professor Simon Chapman, director of research at the School of Public Health at Sydney Medical School, as saying, “Cold turkey is the way that people don’t like talking about but it’s overwhelmingly the most popular and successful way that most people quit smoking. It’s the way that most people who have quit stopped. If you take 100 ex-smokers and ask them how they quit, about 66 to 75 of them will have quit smoking without any assistance at all.”

Chapman’s assertions are supported by a Cancer Institute Australia survey presented October 2010 at the Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health. The survey confirmed that most Australians still stop smoking cold turkey (unassisted).

According to Chapman, “quitting cold turkey isn’t for everyone though; there are some people who will need assistance.” He insists on seeing the alternative – going unassisted – put forward as a viable option in public health messages about dropping off cigarettes. (A recent paper he co-authored on this topic was made available here). “We need to re-balance the public discussion about how people quit smoking. We need to be honest with people and tell them that most people quit without assistance.”

In a twist however, Dr. Michael Siegel, a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, blogs about another study that finds cold turkey quitting more effective than NRT, but concludes otherwise.

So,who is fooling who? I leave you to draw your inference. But,our mantra,at 2stopsmokingtips.com is: smoking cessation is possible with adequate information,preparation and determination. It’s not as hard as they want you to believe!

So, the next time you hear “quitting smoking is the hardest thing I ever did,” ask yourself who’s saying it? Real people? Or actors in commercials for smoking cessation aids like the patch, nicotine gum, Chantix and Zyban?

The assertion that it’s extremely tough to drop off cigarettes is widely believed and you’d be pardoned for thinking you cannot do it alone. But in reality, good old-fashioned willpower and determination could be your best and most effective option.So,try it out today!!! You’ll be amazed at what you can achieve if you set your mind to it.

Related posts:

1. How to Quit Smoking Cold Turkey

Many a time, smokers who want to drop off cigarettes, ask “which is the best book for quit smoking?” To answer the question, I’ll say there are several smoking cessation books available for those who are looking for more information on how to permanently quit smoking. But among these books, some are preferable to others.

Below is a quick rundown of two famous smoking cessation books that are certainly worth the salt. Each of the books presents a potpourri of personal smoking experience, instruction, counsel and motivation on living a tobacco-free life.

Smokers desirous of stopping smoking should make an effort to discover the smoking cessation literature that is best suited for their peculiar circumstances.

Things to Consider before Buying a Quit Smoking Book

1. Was the writer a smoker or not? I believe a book by someone who used to smoke but quit will be ideal because he or she will be writing from first-hand experience.

2. A stop smoking book is about education and in my low and humble estimation; education is the key to learning how to quit smoking permanently. Some people will tell you to use the patch, lozenge, gum or pills, but for me it only takes determination and a reprogramming of the mind.

From all intents and purposes, a stop smoking book that does not educate you should not be considered at all. Proper education will put you in the right frame of mind while trying to quit cigarettes. It may also suggest various tips and strategies that will build up your confidence and provide you with strength in the face of temptations.

3. Find out what technique the book advocates. Is it a popular and sensible technique? What are other people saying about the technique? Research online and get answers to all these questions. The fact that a smoking cessation book was written by an ex-smoker doesn’t mean the method he or she used will work for you.

4. Find out whether the book contains ample research on the subject of smoking cigarette. When you purchase a smoking cessation book, you buy it for a thorough knowledge of the subject; its harmful effects, treatment options and not to read someone’s personal experience alone.

Smoking is a grave and deadly habit that should be gotten rid of through all means possible. So if buying a book can help you conquer this habit then what are you waiting for? Go and get it today to discover extra possibilities. Below is my review of the 2 books:

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking Book

Allen Carr, an accountant, was a former 100-cigarette a day chain smoker who quit smoking after 33 years. Suffice to say, his addiction drove him to the depths of despair and despondency, but after many unsuccessful quit attempts, Carr came up with a plan to quit smoking that finally worked for him. He wrote this book based on his plan. The book became a best seller and has sold millions world-wide. Till today, The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, remains the highest-selling book on quitting smoking worldwide.

One of the most useful parts of the book is where he deflates the most common reasons for smoking such as smoking calming you down or getting rid of stress. He further goes on to explain why smoking isn’t actually enjoyable. For most smokers, this is like a thunder bolt as they see smoking as an enjoyable habit – an indulgence. Rather, he opines that how they feel anytime they smoke is a temporary relief from nicotine withdrawal. He compared it to wearing tight, itchy shoes so that your feet will feel relieved when you take them off. This puts you in the right frame of mind for actually dropping off cigarettes.

Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking

Carr discusses such issues as cigarette and nicotine addiction; the societal “indoctrination” that promotes smoking; the erroneous but commonly-held belief that a cigarette alleviates stress; the role monotony plays in disrupting efforts to stop; and the main reasons for failure.

A huge proponent of the quit smoking cold turkey method, Carr also discusses why people fail using step-down methods. Contrary to their perception, Carr informs that smokers do not get an improvement or boost from lighting up. Smoking, according to him, only eases the withdrawal symptoms from the preceding cigarette, which in turn creates more withdrawal symptoms once it is finished. In this way, the nicotine addiction perpetuates itself.

Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking

He asserted that the withdrawal symptoms are actually created by doubt and fear in the mind of the ex-smoker, and that smoking cessation is not as distressing as is commonly assumed, if that doubt and fear can be done away with.

He examines reasons why people take up the habit and why they continue, as well as why many attempts to stop smoking ultimately fail. Mr. Carr offers a step-by-step approach to stop smoking by addressing the psychological need to smoke and reveals how to handle withdrawal symptoms and situations when temptation might become too strong.

In a nutshell, the easy way to stop smoking involves two things: one, deciding you are never going to smoke again, and two, rejoicing over your decision. Sounds too simple, but after reading the first part of the book, this strategy will make more sense to you.

This book helps smokers quit resolutely. It works best when they are committed, under pressure and need urgent help.

The good thing about the book is that the writer does not pressurize the reader to stay away from cigarettes at once. Rather, he encourages them to follow his step-by-step plan while still smoking!

At the end of the book, Carr provides a checklist of the activities that smokers can engage in to break their addiction. According to him, if you “follow the simple instructions at the end of the book, you will not fail.”

Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking

“You Can Stop Smoking,” by Jacquelyn Rogers

A 2-pack-a-day smoker for more than 20 years, Jacquelyn Rogers tried every means to quit and failed until she combined the facts about her bodily addiction and mental dependence to cease smoking. After quitting her own addiction, she founded the smoking cessation group, SmokEnders.

This “smoker-friendly” guide to quitting smoking details her successful four-week smoking cessation program. Since then, she has helped over one million SmokEnders free themselves from smoking throughout the world.

You Can Stop Smoking

In this course-updated to include the most recent information on smoking cessation- you will find an exclusive and verified method to assist you get rid of cigarettes from your life in just 28 days, no matter how much or how long you have smoked.

In this book, you will also get to know more about the following:

* Weight Gain: Many do not believe but you can quit smoking and not gain weight – if you follow the easy weight instructions built into this course.

* Addiction Info: Learn how nicotine dependence works and how you will quietly get rid of the nicotine in your system. Now, wait for this: you can smoke while you prepare to quit!

You Can Stop Smoking

* The nicotine patch: Medical Doctors often recommend this book along with nicotine patches to make sure withdrawal cravings are fully dealt with.

* After quit smoking: Get prepared for the social, physical and emotional alterations that occur when you become an ex-smoker. You’ll be so empowered that going back to smoking will no longer be an option for you.

This book is chock-full with information that all smokers need to quit. Despite the fact that the book doesn’t employ scare tactics, your attitude to cigarettes and smoking will change after going through it.

You Can Stop Smoking

A good psychology book written for smokers, it quietly takes you down the path to attaining the goal of being a non-smoker. Even though you have to “work the program”, it’s a whole lot of fun – and, if you do all the exercises and follow the recommendations – you will feel you finally have power over your smoking.

Since smoking is largely said to be caused by stress, this book has many stress management tools. On the whole, it’s a good book that will help many a determined fellow quit smoking.

Which Book Should You Go For? And Why?

When it comes to choosing out of the two, we highly recommend the Easy Way to Stop Smoking. The Easy Way to Stop Smoking holds all the aces when it comes quit smoking and this can be gleaned from the various reviews from people that have already bought, read and used it.

We also recommend the Easy Way to Stop Smoking because it highly recommends cold turkey quitting.

If you are on the lookout for a reliable quit smoking book, and you want great value for the price you pay, the Easy Way to Stop Smoking is the recommended option.

Our Pick:

Related posts:

1. Allen Carr’s Stop Smoking Book
2. Frequently Asked Questions about Using the Nicotine Gum
3. 10 Ways to Stop Smoking Without NRT