How Can You Quit Smoking?

It's a question that haunts a great percentage of people who light up, and it's a question that haunts the concerned public who do not engage in the habit. It haunts those who have lost a loved one or close friend to it, and it haunts those who didn't listen to their doctor and are struggling every day with disease. How can you stop smoking? Cigarette smoking is a deadly habit, and anyone who has experienced the negative side effects will often wish that they never started in the first place. But it's never too late to quit and have a new lease on life.

Heath care costs for smoking patients run into the billions annually, and that's only counting the cost in the U.S. and not in other countries. Luckily, there are some things that can help the smoker overcome their addiction, but it will require a tremendous amount of willpower, determination, and psychological strength.Ultimately, it comes down to how well you can restrain yourself from picking up that cigarette.

The method of quitting cold turkey is not entirely impossible, but it is more difficult than other methods. You just quit smoking. Period. There are also medications that can be obtained only with a prescription from your doctor. These medicines bind to the receptors that are triggered by nicotine so that you do not have the craving for the drug, but it also triggers the same effects that nicotine has, which is helpful to stave off the hungry feeling.

There are, of course, nicotine delivery sytems. The patch is worn all day and delivers a continuous dose of nicotine throughout the day. The inhaler also delivers nicotine through a small contraption that is sucked on by the smoker. The effects of the nicotine can be felt about 15 minutes after inhalation. There is also a nicotine lozenge, which is just like a cough drop, nicotine gums, and nicotine nasal sprays.

One other way that might help you out is the electronic cigarette, which copies the exact act of a real cigarette. The smoke-like vapor you see emitted from the battery-powered device is actually a liquid solution containing nicotine that is heated up.

While mind and body control are important here, sometimes it just isn't enough and a little help on the sidelines is needed from outside "sources". These outside "sources" can assume the form of a pill, a patch, and even an electronic device that looks like a real cigarette.