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A home nicotine test kit which gives instant results could be an incentive to quit smoking and refrain from relapse once your quit smoking goal has been achieved.

The key to successfully stop smoking is to have a quit smoking strategy which includes a quit date and the notification of family, friends and coworkers of your stop smoking plans with a request for support and understanding. In addition to moral support and encouragement, motivation in the form of measurable benefits is also an important ingredient of a successful quit smoking endeavor.

As with any undertaking that requires continuous effort and commitment, the main motivation to continue the effort is measurable benefit(s), such as the achievement of a desired weight from a weight loss program, obtaining a grade of A on an examination after extensive studying or receiving a job promotion for diligent performance. Although blood pressure and heart rate decrease within 20 minutes of stopping smoking, these are the only benefits that are immediately measurable.  Improved circulation which also occurs within 20 minutes of stopping smoking is not measurable, and other benefits such as improvement of cough and shortness of breath take weeks to months to be appreciated.  Other benefits such as reduced risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease occur one to several years after one has stopped smoking.

Home urine nicotine test kits measure cotinine, a metabolite or breakdown product of nicotine which is measureable in the urine for from five to seven days following tobacco use and is an indirect indicator of the concentration of nicotine in the body.  There is only one home urine nicotine test kit on the market which provides an immediate test result of the concentration of cotinine from which one’s level of tobacco exposure can be determined based on the cotinine concentration expressed in nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) and the interpretation scale that accompanies the kit. A reading between 0 and 10 ng/ml is interpreted as a non-smoker with no nicotine exposure, whereas a result between 10 and 30 ng/ml is interpreted as a non-smoker with low passive nicotine exposure, also referred to as second-hand exposure.

Cotinine levels of between 30 and 100 ng/ml correlate with a non-smoker with higher degrees of passive nicotine exposure, and concentrations of 100 to 1000+ are interpreted as active smoking or use of tobacco products.

In this creative model the level of nicotine exposure of the person participating in the quit smoking plan, henceforth referred to as the subject, as well as family members and other household contacts is determined by performing nicotine tests with the instant quantitative home test kit at the beginning of the stop smoking program and continued until the smoker has successfully managed to stop smoking.

Testing the subject from start date to stop date is designed to provide motivation and positive feedback so important for successfully quitting smoking.  The testing of household contacts at or prior to the start date of the quit smoking campaign is for the purpose of providing the subject with added motivation to begin the quit smoking plan by providing measurable data showing the potential harm that his or her smoking habit poses for his or her dear ones if their test results are consistent with passive nicotine exposure. Daily urine testing of the subject with recordings of declining cotinine levels, providing nicotine use is at least decreasing, is designed to provide the smoker with measurable positive feedback to continue the quit smoking plan, even if the stop date has to be adjusted further into the future.

Daily or random testing of household contacts until the quit smoking date has been reached is designed to provide additional immediate gratitude and reward for the subject once the level of nicotine exposure of those individuals reaches the 0 to 10 ng/ml level.

Since relapse is a big problem with many smokers who have managed to stop initially, it would be reasonable for the former smoker to give family members and others in his or her support group permission to perform random quantitative urine nicotine testing as a surveillance safeguard and hopefully, a deterrent to relapse.  It is appropriate and recommended that your healthcare provider be involved in the nicotine testing and all aspects of the stop smoking plan if he or she is willing.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purpose only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical consultation with a qualified professional. The author encourages Internet users to be careful when using medical information and to consult your physician if you are unsure about your medical condition.

As a board certified internist I recognized the medical and economic burdens tobacco use places on society and the need to help patients stop smoking. To learn more about how nicotine test kits can be used as a tool to help stop smoking visit http://www.proactivehealthoutlet.com.

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If you get the craving for a cigarette and it becomes too much to deal with do you run off where no one can see you smoking? Now, you have options and can live your life healthier and with out the stress by using smokeless cigarettes. And, because this revolutionary new device is a battery operated smokeless cigarette device with which emit no carbon or cigarette odor, you can smoke or as the trend states “vaporize” anywhere anytime.

This new concept is quite interesting and allows you the choice to live your life healthier using a new vapor technology produced in the smokeless cigarettes. These devices are engineered to vaporize water and nicotine contained in a plastic cartridge by using a microchip controlled atomizer heating the liquid causing the water vapor and smoke effect while allowing a flow of nicotine into your body. There is no flame or lighting of the device. You are also eliminating the tar and harmful carcinogens normally ingested when smoking a standard cigarette.

You may want to try it out, you wont be offended and to boot there are many other benefits to your body. Since you are not inhaling any of the hundreds of known toxins and chemicals used in standard tobacco cigarettes you can look forward to being able to stage a recovery process caused by “Smokers Lung”.

Some interesting facts about how a smoker’s lung recovers after stopping the use of tobacco smoke. 1) Your blood pressure and pulse rate starts to neutralize within the first 20 minutes. 2) Within 12 hours your oxygen levels in your blood stream return to normal and your carbon monoxide levels lower dramatically. 3) In 72 hours damage nerve endings in your lungs start to re-grow and your bronchial tubes start to relax. 4) In 5-6 days breathing becomes easier and your lungs start to naturally expand. 5) As 2-weeks pass, brain acetylcholine receptor counts up-regulated in response to nicotine’s presence have now down-regulated and receptor binding has returned to levels seen in the brains of non-smokers. 6) In 3-months, your heart attack risk has started to drop. Your lung function is beginning to improve. 7) After one year your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker. Amazing isn’t it? If this doesn’t motivate you as a smoker nothing will…

Smokeless cigarettes are the most advanced product recently introduced to the market that can kick start this recovery process. The standard kit includes the smokeless device, ten cartridges with liquid nicotine. There are also two batteries and a charger sent along with the cigarettes. You simply choose one of the cartridges and set it in the cigarette. By the time you finish your first cartridge your smoking habit will better for you and to others, but you too can live your life of health using smokeless cigarettes. And, even before you reach that point in kicking the nicotine habit once and for all, just having the confidence of smoking in public will decrease the stress in your life and you will live your life healthier using smokeless cigarettes.

Smokeless cigarettes are available at various Internet sites. The cigarette like devices produces a white smoke that is actually water vapor. There is no cigarette smell in this smoke, however, because there is no carbon being emitted into the air which causes cancer, these smokeless cigarettes are legal to smoke wherever and whenever you want. Try and live your life healthier using smokeless cigarettes to satisfy your need for nicotine and even try to quit smoking when you feel ready. Smokeless cigarettes use nicotine cartridges that are available in four strengths high, medium, low, no nicotine, and menthol product in the cartridge. The cartridges are available on the Internet and can be bought separately once you purchase your smokeless cigarettes. Few people think about a smoker and the secret feelings of having his rights stepped on, but now you can take charge of your habit and begin to live your life of health using smokeless cigarette. Try this great new product for yourself and see the difference it makes in your life.

Aaron Bercovich – Long time smoker who managed to quit smoking using smokeless cigarettes and wishes to share his experience to help others in recovering their lung health. For more information visit http://www.supercig.com

or http://www.safecig.com

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Let’s see what the electronic cigarettes are and where you can get an electronic cigarette free trial. First, let’s see what this revolutionary divice is. The patented Electronic Cigarette offers to effectively simulate the experience of smoking an actual cigarette, without any of the health or legal issues surrounding traditional cigarettes.

While Electronic cigarettes look, feel and taste much like traditional cigarettes, they function very differently. The device takes the form of a tiny rod which is slightly longer than a normal cigarette. The mouthpiece of the device contains a replaceable cartridge filled with liquid. The main substances contained in the liquid are nicotine, propylene glycol, and optional flavours or aromas.

When the user inhales through the device, the air flow is detected by a sensor. A microprocessor then activates an atomizer, which injects tiny droplets of the liquid into the flowing air and vapourises the nicotine. This produces a vapor mist which is inhaled by the user. The addition of propylene glycol to the liquid makes the mist better resemble normal cigarette smoke. The microprocessor also activates an orange LED at the tip to simulate real smoking.

In plain English: Electronic cigarettes allow you to get your nicotine fix while avoiding all of the cancer causing agents found in traditional cigarettes such as tar, glue, hundreds of additives, and hydrocarbons.

-No Tar.

-No Smoke. “I feel better. I have noticed extra energy and stamina since I started alternating between e cigs and regular cigarettes. I guess I am getting less of the ‘bad’ smoke and can feel the difference! Jerry G., Newport, RI”

-No Tobacco. “Mom is happy! She has been asking me to at least cut down for years. I smoked an e cigarette right in her kitchen! Her immediate angry reaction at what she thought was a cigarette turned into a giant smile when she realized it wasn’t ‘real’!! Tommy D., Hawthorne, NY”

-No Smelly Clothes or Furniture.

-No Yellow Teeth or Bad Breath. “It doesn’t stink! I am single – and let’s face it – smelling like smoke and cigarette breath can be a major turn off! No more sneaking a cigarette followed by the perfume/breath spray maneuver! Jessica P., Gainesville, FL”

-Smoke Anywhere You Want “’Hey! What the heck is that?’ The airport security agent asked when he opened my smart smoker box. I held one up and smoked it! He said ‘Wow! I can’t smell anything! Go ahead!’ Jacob L., West Palm Beach, FL”

-Cheaper Than Tobacco Cigarettes An average smoker spends between $2.500 and $3.500 per year on cigarettes. The average e-cig smoker spends approximately $750 – $900 per year. You’ll be saving money and improving your health at the same time!

Stop risking your health and try electronic cigarettes. Visit http://electroniccigarettex.weebly.com

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Studies have shown that smoking is the leading preventable cause of death but in America today. Aware of all the fatal consequences of smoking, smokers over 90% of something is ready to quit smoking. Then, if the problem is? In fact, the problem is drug addiction and a pleasure to receive the tobacco smokers. It’s really hard to forget that the joy, the release of the nicotine that their feel-good endorphins. Many smokers begin their smoking cessation plan with enthusiasm and determination, but can not long continue at the same pace as the addiction and a pleasure for the same reason. Many people tend to give up, because the withdrawal symptoms confirmed to quit smoking. In this crucial moment of this custom is in full control of your Chantix will help greatly in the form of non-prescription medicines. There are many other smoking cessation treatment exist, but Chantix has become a favorite and the most, because its will help to stop smoking in a very short period of time.

Chantix has proven to be a milestone in the production of anti-smoking pill. Following FDA approval, Chantix has increased the popularity of many folds. Only a few months after the start, Chantix is going to have succeeded in helping smokers to smoking cessation and withdrawal symptoms.

This is an interesting and important to know why Chantix becomes a popular day by day. Indeed, Chantix works in a totally different and kind enough to stop. When a smoker inhales smoke, the nicotine receptors and applies to the brain to release dopamine, a chemical substance. Dopamine is a pleasure to feel the endorphins, but remains at the same time. Unlike nicotine patches and gum, Chantix contains no nicotine, but operates in the same receptors as nicotine, thus blocking the addiction. At the same time, Chantix stimulate more dopamine in the brain, which helps reduce the desire to produce smoke.

There is a sense of buoyancy and relief, and the only reason that smoking is a way to quit smoking once. Chantix does not leave the smoker to feel the sensations. Chantix is also available on the success of the withdrawal signs of decline.

While Chantix has touched the heights of popularity of various regimes of stopping smoking stop smoking campaigns, individuals and various organizations, but it is a fact that Chantix is not without side effects, including nausea, anxiety and sleeping sickness. But most of the side effects tend to resolve over time if treatment is continued. Completion of the rapid, safe and effective results for smoking cessation programs, Chantix has shown a key in one of the annoying habit of smoking cessation success, we tried at the same time.

Sylvia Parker is author of Champix USA.For more information about champix stop smoking visit http://www.champix.virtuale.org/

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When it comes to smoking it is important to realise that there is no quick and easy method of giving up. However, there are some new ways to stop smoking which can allow you to overcome some of the side effects when quitting smoking or increase willpower, causing the struggle to give up to get a little less stressful.

• Herbal non smoking aids can be used to replace nicotine in the body and allow you to cut down your nicotine addiction slowly but surely. The benefits of this have been seen by many people, but like many other stop smoking aids, it does not work for everybody.
• Hypnosis can allow you to interact with your senses by using positive affirmations and suggestions and enables you to deal with all the emotional and psychological aspects of smoking rather than the physical effects, meaning that once you have given up, it should stay that way.
• Drugs can be obtained via prescription as a last resort to stopping smoking. This can include antidepressants which can reduce the smoker’s interest in cigarettes. However, due to being such new treatments, the long term effects of a few of these drugs are not yet known.
• Inhalers and sprays are now being made widely available to help smokers give up due to their ability to clear clogged nasal and throat passages, a common side effect when quitting smoking.
• Subliminal messaging can be used to align your subconscious mind with your conscious goals and therefore greatly increase willpower. A subliminal stop smoking CD can be used as an alternative to other smoking aids and significantly reduce cravings, allowing you to give up smoking in a slightly easier way and help you to quit forever.

Brought to you by Marvin King of SubliminalMP3s.com:
Use our free subliminal messages today or give our free stop smoking subliminal album a try to start your smoke free life now.

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Here is one good piece of quit smoking advice. I remember a friend told me that “Smokers don’t get old because they die young.” This is true if you think about it. Most smokers die in their middle age. Approximately 4 million people die every year around the world because of smoking. When you decide to quit smoking, commit to it. There must be no doubt or any negative views about how hard it is to quit. You must focus yourself about the benefits of being smoke free. Smokers who have successfully conquered their craving show that anyone can quit smoking. Anyone can give up smoking. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been smoking but the fact that you stop is a great life saving accomplishment. List the reasons for quitting. Don’t just let this quit smoking advice go in one ear and then out the other. Planning and then applying this quit smoking advice is the stepping stone to success. And these plans must certainly be followed. If you can’t quit instantly, here is one excellent piece of quit smoking advice. You can decrease the tar amount in the cigarettes that you smoke. But don’t smoke more than the usual number of cigarettes that you smoke in a day. An increase of the number of cigarettes means more nicotine intake into your body. Here is another good piece of quit smoking advice. Regularly cut the number of cigarettes that you smoke. Also: Instead of the whole cigarette, smoke half of it. Another piece of quit smoking advice: When you just have to light up, refrain from lighting your cigarette for an hour. Decide in advance on how many cigarettes you will smoke for the day. One of the most important quit smoking advice to remember is to cut down, not increase your intake. A change of eating pattern would assist in cutting down on smoking. With each meal take something which would not lead to smoking a cigarette. Replace the cigarette with fruits or juice, this will make you healthier and will detoxify your body. Cutting down is not a substitute for stopping. When you set a quantity of cigarettes per day you should stick to it and later on probably lessen the target number. Don’t throw the butts in your ashtrays for it will leave an awful scent that will remind you of cigarettes and wanting to smoke. One more piece of quit smoking advice is to make smoking difficult. Don’t buy cigarettes in cartons; instead wait until you finish one before buying another pack. We truly hope that you find this quit smoking advice helpful.

For more articles tips and information on quit smoking advice visit: http://www.wakeupsmokefree.com

Wendell and Charmayne Vannatter
Website: http://www.WCVMarketing.com
WCV Marketing is dedicated to helping people create their own home based online marketing business. The ideas presented here will help the average person to create a profitable online in-home business. Using the ideas and tips in these articles anyone can create a successful home based business even in these times of recession.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/quit-smoking-advice-that-you-can-live-with-1416402.html

One of the most obvious stop smoking facts is, it doesn’t happen overnight. Quitting the use of tobacco is truly a process that takes time. To effectively kick this nasty habit it takes time and willpower and a proven and effective product, so you should try to relax and put a little time between you and the last cigarette you have smoked. By quitting smoking you will gain a great many health benefits. As a matter of fact within just minutes from stopping there are many benefits that you will gain instantly. Here are some stop smoking facts to consider. Within 20 minutes of stopping, your blood pressure and pulse goes back to normal. Here is a stop smoking fact that should interest you. Within 8 hours of stopping nicotine intake, carbon monoxide levels in your blood are reduce by half. Also, oxygen levels go back to normal. In a day, carbon monoxide will be totally eliminated or removed from the body, and the lungs start to clear out mucous and other kind of smoking debris. Here is another stop smoking fact. In 2 days, nicotine will be totally eliminated in the body. The ability to taste and smell is greatly improved as it used to be. In 3 days, your breathing becomes easier, because the bronchial tubes begin to relax and energy levels increase. In 2 to 12 weeks the circulation will be improved. After 3 to 9 months coughs, wheezing and breathing problems are improved as lung functions are increased up to 10%.  In 5 years of not smoking the risk of heart attack falls to about half that of a regular smoker. In about 10 years, the risk of lung cancer will fall to about half that of a steady smoker, and the risk of heart attack falls to that of a non-smoker. Here are some stop smoking facts on a self help level. It gives you confidence. Quitting the smoking habit is a very hard challenge. Once you have quit, you will know that you can also succeed at other difficult tasks, and you will know that you can take control of your life. Quitting the smoking habit helps you to believe more in yourself. You will become more fit because smoking makes it harder for us to exercise and it reduces the health benefits to our body. Chain smokers or those light smokers have more chance of having coughs and colds than non-smokers and take longer to get well again. Another stop smoking fact is, you need a proven and effective product to help you quit.

For more information on stop smoking facts and benefits visit: http://www.wakeupsmokefree.com

Wendell and Charmayne Vannatter
Website: http://www.WCVMarketing.com
WCV Marketing is dedicated to helping people create their own home based online marketing business. The ideas presented here will help the average person to create a profitable online in-home business. Using the ideas and tips in these articles anyone can create a successful home based business even in these times of recession.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/stop-smoking-facts-and-benefits-1420371.html

FDA favors deadly drugs over safe alternatives

The FDA has finally acknowledged near 300 reports of suicide and attempted suicide that are linked to the smoking cessation drug Chantix.  The FDA announcement is 2 years overdue.  Chantix is a smoking cessation prescription medication marketed by Pfizer.  Pfizer clearly states on their website “Some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions while using CHANTIX to help them quit smoking. Some people had these symptoms when they began taking CHANTIX, and others developed them after several weeks of treatment or after stopping CHANTIX.”1

Quitting smoking is difficult enough without the addition of mind altering drugs.  There are alternatives to help you either quit smoking, or smoke a healthier alternative.  The electronic cigarette could be your answer.

 The electronic cigarette is considered a “harm reduction alternative”.  The FDA has yet to prove electronic cigarettes as harmful, however they are using a fear campaign to sway public opinion of these potentially lifesaving devices.  An electronic cigarettes, also known as an e-cigarette, is tobacco and tar free.  An e-cigarette contains only 20 ingredients, none of which are carcinogenic.  Regular cigarettes contain 4,000 chemicals, many of which have been proven to be toxic.  The smoker draws on an e-cigarette, just like a regular cigarette.  Inside is pure nicotine held in a suspension of food safe additives.  The smoker inhales and blows out what looks like smoke, but is water vapor.  The smoker controls how much or how little nicotine he or she inhales by buying various strengths of e-cigarette cartridges. 

Gina King of www.e-cigarettedirect.com states that “sales have been increasing every month.  Customers rave that the electronic cigarette has given them back their life, their sense of taste and their control. They don’t want mind-altering drugs.   They want electronic cigarettes to stay legal!”

 A growing number of tobacco scientists are questioning the FDA’s motives to try and ban electronic cigarettes.  Dr. Michael Siegel  notes that “unlike Chantix – for which there were many immediate post-marketing reports of potential adverse effects — e-cigarettes have been on the market for more than three years and there have yet to be any severe adverse effects reported.”

Dr. Siegel also noted “We know that there is no evidence that anyone is dying from using electronic cigarettes, but we’re going to take them off the market, even though they are helping people to quit smoking. That just doesn’t make any sense,” Dr. Siegel said.

As the FDA review of the problems with Chantix has continued, the FDA states that it appears increasingly likely that there is an association between Chantix and serious neuropsychiatric symptoms.

 So, if you want to curb your smoking habit, you have a choice:  Mind-altering drugs or a safe alternative:  The electronic cigarette.

Visit G. King’s sites: E-Cigarette and electronic cigarette

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/quit-smoking-articles/electronic-cigarette-vs-chantix-1384388.html

Billions of dollars are at stake. Millions of deaths result. Top corporate executives sit around the boardroom and discuss ways to improve their market share. Their success depends on keeping you smoking and getting people that don’t smoke to start. It’ s all about the billions.

The tobacco companies have very deep pockets. They have spent billions of dollars in advertising over the years and they know how to keep their customers. They want you to die a smoker. Their bottom line depends on it. And you will if you do not quit.

What if I told you that stopping smoking was easy? That smoking is a body and mind addiction. Yes, body AND mind!

I don’t know anyone that actually picks up a cigarette and goes, “ mmmmm, tastes great!” Do you? Of course not. Your body rejects it. It coughs, hacks, spits, and does everything that it can to tell you this is bad stuff. You started because your mind was thinking how cool you will be, how much older it will make you look and your body is obeyed. Now you are addicted.

Everyone starts this way. EVERYONE. You had to use your mind to convince your body or you would reject it.

I find it fascinating that almost all methods of quitting smoking do not take into consideration the mind. There are pills and patches and inhalers and gums. All these programs have a very low success rate.

Doesn’t it make sense to use the very part of you that started the whole thing – Your mind?? Or course it does.

Everyone starts to smoke for some sort of motivating reason. If I gave you a piece of food that was stinky, burned your throat and made you cough and gag, how many pieces would you eat? I don’t think very many. See, it would be unnatural for you to want more.

Smoking is not natural or everyone would be smoking. You cannot grow a cigarette tree in your backyard or a cigarette plant in your garden. They are not natural. Tobacco may be natural but cigarettes are far more than tobacco with an estimated 4000 ingredients added! The list is highly guarded and protected by law as a trade secret. Imagine that. It’s the public’s health and it’s a trade secret. Something isn’t right.

But one thing that is right is the decision to quit smoking. Quitting smoking is the one thing that will immediately improve your life and the life of those around you. When a person realizes that quitting IS a Body and Mind process it makes the process much easier.

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In part 1 of this article, we discussed real chemical addiction and how stopping cold-turkey can be life threatening. We also pointed out that although a smoker claims, “I’m dying for a cigarette,” no one has actually died because they didn’t get a smoke.

The reason it is important to understand that cigarette smoking is a psychological addiction rather than a physical one, is to facilitate effective protocols to remove cigarettes from a smoker’s life. In this article, we are going to discuss examples that demonstrate that nicotine is not physically addictive but that cigarette smoking is psychologically addictive.

What is Nicotine

Talk about a substance that has gotten a bad reputation. Nicotine is presented as the ultimate evil and the culprit that makes quitting cigarettes difficult or for some, impossible. However, just what is nicotine?

According to medical researcher Dr. David G. Williams, nicotine is a chemical substance found in cigarette smoke that stimulates the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is needed to facilitate the transmission of nerve impulses.

There’s one thing though, there is another chemical called nicotinic acid that is a close cousin of nicotine that also stimulates the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. What is this almost identical substance? It is called Vitamin B3!

Could smokers be getting Vitamin B3 from their cigarettes? If so, it’s not a healthy way to do it but look at the symptoms of Vitamin B3 deficiency:

Impaired recent memory
Depression
Hyper irritability
Apprehension
Emotional instability

These are many of the reasons that people give for smoking! It improves their memory, lifts their spirits, calms them down, etc. Since many people don’t have good nutrition, perhaps one of the things that fuels the Psychological Smoking Mechanism is a B3 deficiency. After all, these are water soluble vitamins or chemicals, if you will. They are not stored in the body and must be replaced constantly.

The bottom line here is that people don’t get addicted to vitamins! This is just another indicator that the thing that keeps people smoking is not an addiction to nicotine. Let’s look at some of the other things associated with smoking that do not follow the physical addiction mechanism.

If Cigarettes were Addictive

In the previous article in this series, we discussed a case of accidental addiction to pain medicine. As you recall, when the patient discovered they weren’t getting the same results from the standard dose of medicine, they increased the dose which did, for a time give them relief. It wasn’t long before they had to increase the dose again, and again.

This is what happens with chemical addiction, the body views the chemical as throwing it out of balance (homeostasis) and it creates a counter force. It matches each increase with an increase in counter force.

If nicotine was a truly addictive chemical, the smoker would have to keep increasing intake to achieve the same effects that are claimed for cigarettes just as in our drug example. The consumption of cigarettes would increase over time. However, this doesn’t happen.

Let me give you a real life example. My grandfather was a cigarette smoker. He smoked his entire life starting in his early childhood years. He smoked less than a pack of cigarettes per day. The amount smoked never varied. He had a set amount that he unconsciously metered and for over 70 years maintained this level. The fact that he smoked less than a pack per day was to his benefit and delayed the health issues associated with cigarette smoke. But you can’t avoid it forever and he did eventually develop health problems that years of cigarette smoking produced.

A clear indicator that cigarettes are psychologically addictive and not physically addictive is that the smoker settles into a pattern and stays there for years. You have your half a pack a day person, your pack a day person, your 1.5 pack a day person, your 2 pack a day person and in extreme cases, the three pack a day person. This volume is established pretty early and stays that way. There may be daily fluctuations but they all average out. There is a mental meter that regulates the amount of cigarettes smoked! That’s the Psychological Smoking Mechanism.

If cigarettes were physically addictive, the smoker would be adding more and more cigarettes to achieve whatever claimed benefit they provided. This doesn’t happen. This is a clear indicator that that cigarette consumption is regulated by the Psychological Smoking Mechanism and not the chemicals in the cigarette.

If Nicotine was a Chemical Addiction

There is a whole category of smoking cessation treatment protocols that operate under the idea that providing nicotine will take the place of smoking. The thinking behind this category is that supplying nicotine through vehicles such as patches or gum will eliminate the desire to smoke because the hypothetical nicotine demand is being met. Then by reducing the nicotine over time, just like drug rehab, the compulsion to smoke will be eliminated. Sounds great doesn’t it? If nicotine were the culprit, nicotine patches, gum and lozenges would be 100% successful. After all, they are giving the body the chemical that it theoretically craves which is the supposed mechanism behind the compulsion to smoke.

Nicotine patches are powerful products that give the body a steady supply of nicotine. Let’s look at their effectiveness. Since the smoker is getting generous amounts of nicotine which they are supposedly craving, the patches should be incredibly effective. However, some research shows, (Davidson, M., Epstein, M., Burt, R., Schaefer, C., Whitworth, G. & McDonald, A. (1998)), that only 19% of people on patches had stopped smoking at six weeks and that it was reduced to 9.2% at six months. Looking at it another way, at 6 weeks, 81% of the people using nicotine patches were still smoking and at 6 months, about 91% were still smoking. Yes, 10% of those that had stopped were back at it again.

The results for the gum is about the same. Even though the gum was providing the smoker with plenty of nicotine, at 6 weeks, 84% of the people were still smoking and at 6 months, 92% were smoking.

These smokers were getting all the nicotine they supposedly needed. In reality, they were probably getting a great deal more nicotine than the cigarettes they smoked provided. Yet, most of them continued to smoke along WITH the patches or gum. If nicotine doesn’t compel the smoker to smoke, what does? It’s the Psychological Smoking Mechanism.

Another Indicator that It Isn’t Nicotine

With a chemical addiction, more is better for the addict. With nicotine patches, the smoker is getting a great deal of nicotine. They should be satisfied right? Well as mentioned in the last section, only 9% actually stop smoking with the patch. However, putting all that nicotine in a smokers system with patches does have an effect on the smoker. According to the American Lung Association, side effects with the nicotine patch are:

Headache
Dizziness
Upset stomach
Weakness
Blurred vision
Vivid dreams
Mild itching and burning on the skin
Diarrhea

Yes, nicotine does have an effect on the smokers body. However, with all the things that smoking does to the smoker, it doesn’t produce these effects. This is another clue that nicotine is not the motivator to smoke.

Smokers Resume Smoking after Extended Periods

Another clue that nicotine is not the motivator to smoke is the tendency for ex-smokers to resume smoking after a long period of time. Obviously, after an extended period of time, all the nicotine would be out of their system. As has been stated, nicotine is the cousin of Vitamin B3, a water soluble vitamin. These substances are either rapidly used or excess flushed from the body daily. No matter how heavy a smoker, it won’t take very long for all nicotine to be out of their system.

Also, from a strictly habit perspective, a few weeks or months without smoking should have put an end to the habit; the habit of reaching for a cigarette is broken. However, an ex-smoker can pick up a cigarette and resume smoking like they never stopped whether it is weeks, months or even years.

This is because the Psychological Smoking Mechanism is still operating. There is no nicotine in the system, the habit has been abandoned for weeks, months or some time years, yet, cigarette smoking can resume.

Conclusion

The effects of nicotine do not follow the chemical addiction mechanism. Nicotine is similar to Vitamin B3, a water soluble vitamin. It must be replenished daily. It is possible that the smoker has a deficiency of Vitamin B3. Each cigarette provides a small amount of nicotine which is similar to Vitamin B3.

A smoker falls into a pattern of cigarette consumption which doesn’t vary over decades. Whether it is the half pack a day, one pack a day, one and a half pack per day or the extreme of three packs per day, this amount doesn’t vary. Although there may be daily fluctuations, it averages out over time to whatever pattern the smoker follows.

Cigarette consumption is regulated by the Psychological Smoking Mechanism. The only way to remove cigarettes from your life is to remove this mechanism. If the Psychological Smoking Mechanism is not removed, the person quitting cigarettes will continue to be a smoker who doesn’t happen to be smoking right now. When the Psychological Smoking Mechanism is gone, so is smoking because the person has become a NONsmoker!

(c) Copyright 2009, R. Michael Stone

R. Michael Stone, M.S. – Counselor
Creator of The Unlearn Smoking Success System tm
The easy 28 day program that helps you become, not an ex-smoker, but a Non-smoker
FREE Reports: ==> Unlearn Smoking
Other Products ==> for self-improvement. Contributed Creativity CD Program to: Thinking Write: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind Thinking Write Book

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