Breaking the Addiction

There are many resources available to smokers who want to quit. These include education, peer support groups, medical intervention, and counseling. Quitting may come easy to some people, but most need to take advantage of many of these resources. First and foremost, a smoker needs to have the desire to quit. They need to admit to themselves that they are addicted to tobacco and they may need help quitting.

One of the hardest things for a person to do is encourage a friend or family member to stop using tobacco.

Nictotine has powerful effects on the human body. Most of these effects are harmful because nicotine, in its pure state, is a poison. Nicotine is also very addictive. There are a variety of medications available to help people break this addiction. Ironically some of them contain nicotine. People can get out of the smoking habit and still get their daily dose of the drug, nicotine. Gradually, the amount of nicotine they get in the medication every day is decreased. The amount continues to go down until the person finds that they are no longer addicted to nicotine.

The medications that have nicotine in them that are used to help people quit using tobacco are gum, patches, inhalers, and nasal spray. All of these help to reduce withdrawal symptoms. They work best when they are used with a support program that deals with a person's mental and emotional reasons for smoking. Remember, the best way to break the habit is to NEVER start using tobacco!