Giving Up Smoking Now

There are many ways to quit smoking, and many different aids you can use during the process. Most people I know who have tried to quit smoking have used all of them at least once in an effort to try and find something that works for them. This article will outline three of the more common aids people use to try and quit smoking for good.

1. The Nicotine Patch

The most well-known quit smoking product is the nicotine patch. It’s easy to use, and provides a steady dose of nicotine directly through the skin, without the need to complete the physical act of smoking. The idea behind the patch is that by starting with the strongest dose available and lowering it over time you will be able to wean your body off its need for the nicotine it used to get through your smoking habit.

Using the patch is not a slow process. On average it takes about 10 weeks to complete the process, according to one major manufacturer.

One of the things to watch out for if you choose to use the nicotine patch is the side effects. Some common side effects of the patch include problems sleeping, headaches, a racing heartbeat, nausea and skin irritation. These side effects vary by manufacturer, dosage, and how long you leave the patch on for.

It has been noted that there are more side effects related to the use of a 24-hour patch than there are on the lower timed patches. Even so, the patch remains one of the most popular ways to quit smoking available over the counter, without a prescription.

2. Nicotine Gum

Another popular way to quit smoking is the use of nicotine gum. Since it delivers the nicotine to your system through your mouth, the gum works much more quickly than the patches. It’s a handy aid to have available, especially if you find yourself in a situation where you have to be around other smokers.

As long as you follow the instructions in the package, nicotine gum works well, and for people with sensitive skin is much more user friendly than the patch.

Another reason some people prefer the gum is that you can control the amount of nicotine you get with each piece, rather than having it fed continuously into your system through the skin.

Although you can chew the gum on an “as needed” basis (up to 20 pieces per day), a recent study suggests that it may be more effective if you set up a schedule and use it only at certain times of the day.

As with the patches, the idea of nicotine gum is to wean yourself off of the nicotine with slowly lowering doses. By the end of three months you should be completely nicotine free with this quit smoking aid.

3. Nicotine Inhalers

The new kid on the block when it comes to ways to quit smoking is the nicotine inhaler. This is what I used to help me quit, and I found it extremely effective.

The nicotine inhaler addresses a second issue in addition to the addiction to nicotine that other replacement aids deal with. When you use a nicotine inhaler, you are actually mimicking the action of smoking. For me, this was the key. I could live without the nicotine itself … I didn’t know what to do with my hands when I didn’t have a cigarette in them.

Similarly to the patch and the gum, the goal of a nicotine inhaler is to wean you off of the need for nicotine. You will start with a strong dose and gradually work your way to smaller doses until your body no longer requires any nicotine.

4. Hypnosis

Hypnosis is another popular way to help yourself stop smoking. It can either involve visiting a trained hypnotist to be put into a trance, or you can do self-hypnosis with the aid of a CD.

There are a lot of arguments for and against using hypnosis as a way to quit smoking. Many people believe that it doesn’t really work, in and of itself, and that it only works because the patient believes in his/her own mind that it will work.

This may be its biggest advantage when it comes to successfully quitting smoking. With the popularity of movies such as The Secret, we are learning more and more about the power of our own minds. If we believe that hypnosis can help us to change our mind and stop smoking, without the need for nicotine replacement aids such as the patch, gum or inhaler, who’s to say that it’s not the right choice.

Quitting smoking is a personal decision, and the use of a quit smoking aid is just as personal. What works for you will be different than what worked for me because our reasons for smoking, as well as our bodies, are different. These are some of the most popular ways to quit smoking, and should give you an idea of what you can do when you are ready to take that step.