People think that to quit smoking, all they need to do is to replace the nicotine provided by the cigarette. There are a number of products out there, many non-prescription, that give an ample supply of replacement nicotine. However, they aren’t very effective. paras nikotiinipussi The reason why people continue to smoke is due to the Psychological Smoking Mechanism, not a need for nicotine.
In this article, we will look at some research on the effectiveness of nicotine patches and gum.
The Nicotine Style of Smoking
Back in the 1990’s, nicotine got called an extremely addictive substance. It was blamed for the reason people think it is hard to quit smoking. Yet, using tobacco does not fit this is of a chemical addiction.
In the nicotine model, craving nicotine is what keeps a person smoking. It followed that when nicotine could possibly be provided from the source apart from cigarettes, the smoker would not crave cigarettes. Thus, the person would quit smoking cigarettes by replacing the source of nicotine with a nicotine patch or nicotine gum. Then, the new source of nicotine could be gradually reduced over time before smoker’s “addiction” to nicotine was removed.
This would be considered a nice, simple solution if nicotine was the real driving force to smoke cigars. However, when there is various other reason people smoke, like the Psychological Smoking Mechanism, supplying nicotine will not be a highly effective substitute. Let’s look at some research on the potency of nicotine patches and gum.
The Research
Two products that follow the chemical addiction style of using tobacco are nicotine patches and nicotine gum. They are superb products and do precisely what they say; they give a very ample supply of nicotine. Because the smoker is getting generous amounts of nicotine, which they are supposedly craving, the patches ought to be incredibly effective and remove the desire for a cigarette. But how effective are they?
Some research shows, (Davidson, M., Epstein, M., Burt, R., Schaefer, C., Whitworth, G. & McDonald, A. (1998)), only 19% of individuals on nicotine patches had stopped smoking at six weeks and it was reduced to 9.2% at half a year. Looking at it another way, at 6 weeks, 81% of individuals using nicotine patches were still smoking and at 6 months, about 91% were still smoking. Yes, 10% of those that had stopped were back at it again.
The results for the gum was a comparable. Despite the fact that the gum was providing the smoker with plenty of nicotine, at 6 weeks, 84% of the people were still smoking and at 6 months, 92% were smoking.
The study showed that the 8% – 9% of individuals who had stop smoking utilizing the nicotine patches and gum were highly motivated to give up smoking! Quite simply, they were removing their Psychological Smoking Mechanism.
A Real Life Example
A radio host was interviewing me concerning the Psychological Smoking Mechanism and throughout the interview he told me that he was an ex-smoker. He said he previously used nicotine gum to give up and it had taken him two years until he was finally from cigarettes. TWO YEARS!
Think about that for an instant. The nicotine gum was providing a large supply of nicotine just as it is made to do. Yet, this man was smoking AND chewing the nicotine gum. Put simply, the gum, loaded with nicotine was not substituting for the cigarette as it theoretical must have done.
Since the man wished to quit, he finally stopped after two years. Nonetheless it wasn’t the gum, it had been him changing his Psychological Smoking Mechanism without even realizing consciously what he was doing. Similar to the 8% – 9% of the people in the study study mentioned above.
Nicotine isn’t the Motivator to Smoke
The amount of nicotine a smoker gets in one cigarette is quite small. Compare the cigarette to your system mass; it’s tiny therefore is the quantity of nicotine it contains.
However, these very effective nicotine dispensing products, nicotine patches and gum are loaded with nicotine. That’s what they are made to do; put adequate nicotine in to the smokers system to, theoretically at least, replace the necessity to smoke a cigarette. However, most smokers have adverse reactions to these products because they’re getting more nicotine than they ever did smoking. What does all this extra nicotine do?
Based on the American Lung Association, unwanted effects with the nicotine patch are:
Headache
Dizziness
Upset stomach
Weakness
Blurred vision
Vivid dreams
Mild itching and burning on your skin
Diarrhea
Yes, nicotine has an impact on the smokers body. However, with the things that smoking does to the smoker, it generally does not produce the effects mentioned by the American Lung Association. This is another clue that nicotine is not the motivator to smoke.
Conclusion
If you go by the nicotine model to give up smoking, you are likely to be disappointed. The only way to quit smoking is to remove the Psychological Smoking Mechanism by using proven, psychological techniques. When the mechanism is gone, so is smoking.
� Copyright 2010, R. Michael Stone
R. Michael Stone, M.S. – Counselor
33 years experience with subconscious communication and subconscious programming techniques.
Creator of The Unlearn Smoking Success System? – This program that gives you the powerful psychological tools essential to disassemble the Psychological Smoking Mechanism. This easy 28 day program can help you become, not an ex-smoker, but a Non-smoker. Find out how this program can assist you permanently remove cigarettes from your life.