Safe Smoking Alternatives – A Few Things to Consider When You Decide to Quit Smoking
Safe Smoking Alternatives – A Few Things to Consider When You Decide to Quit Smoking
There are approximately 46 million adult cigarette smokers in the United States alone. This translates to one in five adults who are putting their health at risk, and truth be told a large percentage of them wants to stop. Their family, friends and coworkers all wish they would stop smoking. Many try and fail with some spending precious dollars in the pursuit of freedom from nicotine. Safe Smoking Alternatives
Why? Is it so difficult to become free from the bondage of using tobacco products. Why? Do so many risk not only their health, but their very lives in pursuit of the short lived emotional and mental support obtained from this addictive plant. Are there not other ways to alleviate the stress of daily life, or satisfy nervous oral fixations.
I believe nicotine to be one of the most addictive substances known to man! Nicotine reigns supreme, even over such substances as, heroin, alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, and an assortment of modern pharmaceutical concoctions. Recovered tobacco users, although 20 years free from the habit will still exclaim how they miss and think of their old habit. Rats and mice are easily addicted with water, laced with nicotine. So much so, these rodents have been known to refuse water without it. This is a national and international scourge further fueled by a well-funded and robust advertising machine that is relentless in his pursuit of new and existing victims. Nicotine is a drug, and the companies that manufacture and advertise are nothing more than legal drug pushers. The modern cigarette is simply a delivery system for this addictive substance. Whether it be smoked, chewed or sniffed the addictive effects are the same and only the destruction brought to the human body changes.
Quitting smoking is actually very simple but extremely difficult. A person who wants to quit needs to realize, and treat this like an addiction to any other mood altering substance. Withdraw from nicotine should take place over a moderate period of time allowing for a gradual reduced level of nicotine in the body. This will most certainly alleviate the more severe withdrawal symptoms. The good news is that nicotine has a very short half-life and is all but completely eliminated from the body and brain in only a few short days. There are many tobacco cessation programs on the market, and most of them are as good as the motivation and intentions of the person quitting. And of course there is always the cold turkey white knuckle method.There are many people who have quit this way-but I might add this is more rare that common and can be a recipe for failure. People that have quit this way actually represent less than 3% of the total success rate. So just what can all the others do, which quit smoking method should they choose? Which ones are effective?
The following is a list of popular methods that are advertised:
Nicotine Patches
Acupuncture
Hypnotherapy
Behavioral Modification
Antidepressants
Herbal Nasal Spray
All these quit smoking methods are designed to aid in the cessation of smoking by reducing cravings while allowing the brain time to heal from years of being dependent on the presence of nicotine. Every smoker is unique and different and ultimately has different reasons for their dependence upon nicotine. Therefore, different programs and methodologies will be effective for different people. To date there is no one magic pill or program that works for everybody. But the bottom line is there’s no real mystery to quitting smoking and or gaining victory over any addictive substance that alters the brain. One must make a commitment to quit, reduce the addictive substance gradually, finally coming to a date when they quit. Supportive measures such as group therapy, behavioral modification, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, and even group support like the 12 step programs are necessary to ensure long-term success. Our brain and body will not be happy initially living without this chemical. However just like time heals all wounds, the brain will heal over time and will revert back to its pre-nicotine state producing its own feel-good stress relieving chemicals. Safe Smoking Alternatives
I believe the key to success for any given program is a combination of, behavioral modification, relaxation techniques, as well as a complete overall removal of all smoking related paraphernalia. Our minds are a
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