The United States had an estimated 49 million adult smokers in 2008, according to the American Heart Association. The reason smoking is such a difficult addiction to kick, explains the American Council on Science and Health, is that all of the elements that make serious drugs like heroin and cocaine so addictive are in nicotine as well. The withdrawal symptoms you will experience when you try to cut back or quit altogether will begin soon after you reduce your nicotine intake and can last for weeks. They include depression, feelings of anger and irritability.
Step 1
Chew nicotine gum or use a nicotine patch. Nicotine replacement therapy will double your chances of quitting smoking, according to the AHA. An NRT patch works by delivering nicotine directly into your bloodstream and lowering your craving. Your brain will get a small and gradually reduced dose of nicotine that will help curb withdrawal symptoms. The gum works much like the patch, but is sometimes favored because it engages your mouth. A review of more than 40,000 smokers who used NRT to quit smoking found that you can successfully quit smoking using NRT with or without additional counseling.
NRT comes in several forms, including gum, lozenges and the patch. Lindsay Stead, author of the 2008 review of smokers who use NRT, suggests starting with one of these products shortly before your planned quit date. It might take up to eight weeks for withdrawal symptoms to dissipate, but you can quit smoking immediately.
Step 2
Take a pill. Chantix and Zyban work by blocking the effect of nicotine on your brain, explains the Mayo Clinic. They stimulate the release of low levels of dopamine and other chemicals in your brain, which helps reduce withdrawal symptoms. Chantix also blocks nicotine receptors in the brain so that if you relapse, the effect you get from cigarettes will be much less pleasurable than in the past. You should start taking Chantix a week prior to your quit date. You will take Chantix and Zyban for 12 weeks, but will quit smoking immediately, without weaning yourself.
Step 3
Get a prescription from your doctor. Newer prescription NRTs such as a nicotine nasal spray and an oral inhaler work by delivering nicotine through the lining of the nose or directly into your mouth, but is not absorbed in the lungs. These tools work much like the gum and lozenges, but have the added benefit of producing a sensation in the back of your mouth similar to smoking a cigarette. You need to be completely off of cigarettes prior to using the nasal spray and oral inhaler.
Tips and Warnings
- Nicotine in NRT is not the same as nicotine in cigarettes. Your chances of trading one addiction for another are low.
- No matter how you quit smoking, you will experience withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine replacement therapies, at best, can only minimize symptoms, not eliminate them altogether.
