Overcoming the Addiction to Nicotine for Good

The addiction to the physical act of smoking and the nicotine a smoker gets from a cigarette can not only cause a person's health to deteriorate, but can also take over a person's life. A smoker is constantly thinking about their next cigarette. This is especially true for a smoker that is trying to quit smoking. Breaking the dependency of nicotine is one of the hardest battles in the stopping smoking process.

Tobacco companies report record profits every quarter because of this addiction. No matter how high the price of a pack of cigarettes get, some smokers will pay it. Most smokers won't be happy about the higher prices, but, nonetheless, some will pay. Some smokers haven't realized that the more they smoke the more their body wants. It is a never ending cycle. A smoker may have begun smoking with the routine of only a half a pack of cigarettes a day, a couple of years later they find themselves smoking almost 2 packs per day. During stressful moments in their lives they may end up smoking 3 packs a day. The tobacco companies will never go out of business with customers like these.

Some compare quitting smoking to quitting cocaine, heroin, gambling, or alcohol. They are right. An addiction is an addiction. No matter what a person is addicted to, they are all for the most part alike. Any addiction that causes physical or mental harm to a person is something that needs to be stopped immediately. Some people may not feel that the addiction to nicotine should be compared to addictions to heroin or cocaine, but, you should not let those people influence you. Don't feel weak because you are addicted to cigarettes. Feel empowered that you are taking the steps to quitting this unhealthy habit.

You are addicted to smoking and the main culprit for the addiction is the drug in cigarettes called nicotine. Nicotine has both mood altering affects and habit forming abilities. Breathing exercises, meditation, magnets, and whatnot may not help the person whose main addiction is to the nicotine in cigarettes. For people that are mainly addicted to the nicotine these stop smoking aides may not work. For the hard core addict to nicotine a Nicotine Replacement Therapy may be the best option.

NRT, or nicotine replacement therapy, should only be temporary. You do not want to have nicotine controlling your life forever. But, to get you started on the best path towards quitting completely, it may be your only option. Most NRT's wean you off of nicotine gradually, usually in stages.

Stage 1 is comprised of the same amount of nicotine you would have gotten from a cigarette but without having to smoke and get all of the chemicals and toxins. After you have been on this stage for a while you will go on to the next step of the process that will decrease your nicotine by a certain margin. You will continue on this path until your body no longer needs nicotine. The amount of time it takes for you to get to the last step depends solely on you. For some people they can breeze through the steps quickly, for others it may take a while. So long as you eventually no longer need nicotine you are fine. Do not force yourself to get off of the NRT too quickly. Doing so may make you lapse and start smoking cigarettes again. Although NRT is not very healthy, it is healthier than smoking cigarettes.

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