Quit Smoking Advice

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Don’t Underestimate the Power of the Patch (or Gum) — Forms of nicotine replacement therapy have been shown to double your chances of quitting smoking, and can help you fight the urge to light up when you’re facing nicotine withdrawal, …

Tips On How To Quit Smoking? | quittingcigarettes.net

For the past month, i’ve been smoking to up to five sticks a day. Any tips to minimize and eventually stop my smoking habit?

Nicotine patches are perhaps the most common form of nicotine replacement therapy, designed the ease the discomfort of physical withdrawal when a smoker decides to quit cigarettes. Unlike other methods which work on satisfying an instant craving, patches are designed to continually release nicotine for the duration of wear, which hopefully reduces the chances of an intense craving.

Nicotine patches are quite large and resemble a large Band Aid or plaster. They tend to be skin coloured, for maximum discretion. They are applied to the skin, where a mild glue holds them in place until they are forcibly removed. While the patches are in contact with the skin, a small amount of nicotine is released and this is absorbed into the bearer’s system.

Like all types of nicotine replacement therapy, nicotine patches come in various strengths. The most common use of patches is to use them on a sliding scale, beginning with patches containing 15mg of nicotine. After six week, if the bearer has successful managed to avoid smoking, this is decreased down to 10mg. Another two weeks on, it is then suggested a further drop down to the lowest rate – 5mg – for a further two weeks. After this period, most can remove the patches all together and begin a life completely devoid of nicotine.

Nicotine patches have one of the best success rates of all the various nicotine replacement therapies. This is largely due to the fact that they create a constant flow of nicotine into the bearer’s system, hugely reducing the risks of an all-consuming craving which can often cause people to give up and smoke a cigarette.

As with anything, there are some drawbacks to nicotine patches. The most common side effect is skin discoloration or discomfort where the patch meets the skin. For this reason, it is recommended that with each new patch you apply, put it in a different area of the body to reduce the chances of suffering. The most common areas for application are the hips, thighs, back and upper arms, and it is worth remembering that patches will be less effective if applied on a joint. Instead, opt for a flat area of skin which is disturbed as little as possible by movement.

However, the benefits far outweigh the negatives of nicotine patches. They are hugely useful if you find the taste or smell of nicotine unpleasant, something which is unavoidable with gum or nasal sprays. Although patches can’t do the entire job of quitting for you, it is estimated that those who do wear patches are 50% more likely to quit smoking for good.

One of the biggest mistakes smokers make when trying to give up is to go it alone. This is both in terms of trying to quit “cold turkey” – i.e. not using any form of nicotine replacement therapy – and by not seeking help and advice from others.

It is estimated that if a smoker goes on a course of nicotine replacement therapy and has group therapy with a qualified counsellor, their chances of stopping smoking for good are as high as 90%.

Unfortunately, many people still have huge reservations about therapy. It is easy to see why people find the idea of sitting around with a group of strangers, talking about personal emotions and issues may seem daunting, and many believe it doesn’t work anyway. But statistics show that when people do seek professional group support while quitting smoking, it genuinely does help lessen their chances of resuming the habit.

It can be immensely freeing to sit with people, from all walks of life, who are in a similar situation to you and talk about it. This is especially true if it’s something you’ve never done before. Quitting smoking is incredibly difficult, particularly if you are the only one in your social circle who has decided to kick the habit. By attending group meetings, you are going to receive support and – most importantly – understanding from people who are in the exact same position. Group therapy is recommended for almost anything – there has to be a reason for that, and the main reason is that it works. Why not try it and see? After all, if you genuinely disliked the first session, there’s no need to go again.

Similar concepts apply to quitting smoking without using nicotine replacement therapy. Many people believe that using aids like nicotine patches and gum simply prolongs their addiction and they want to make a clean break, which is understandable. Yet the chances of someone staying off cigarettes for life doubles when they use nicotine replacement therapy, which is – in the long term – the most effective way of ridding yourself of the addiction once and for all.

Giving up smoking is wickedly difficult for most people, so why not get all the support you need? Smoking may be legal, but it’s still a potent addiction – very few people are expected to stop using heroin or alcohol without support, so why smoking? By getting help, you are genuinely doubling – and in the case of also using therapy, perhaps trebling – your chances of kicking the habit for good.