Help Drug Abuse

Nicotine addiction is as powerful as with any drug and this makes it a very difficult to stop smoking cigarettes. When you stop smoking, your body reacts with withdrawal symptoms and inevitably, you give in and start smoking again, if only to get some relief from these symptoms.

When you decide to quit, you have to deal with the nicotine addiction as well as breaking the habit of smoking, so it is a double-edged sword. Health authorities have been stressing the potential health problems associated with smoking for some time, and this has created several new solutions to the problem of trying to stop smoking.

The top of the range of products to help you stop smoking are the prescription medications available from your doctor. Make sure you ask about potential side effects and any on-going problems with taking these medications.

There is a wide range of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products available without prescription. These pills, patches and gum are useful in helping you break the grip nicotine may have on your body. Be aware that you are still putting nicotine into your system, and you advised against using them as a long-term stop smoking strategy.

Continue reading ‘The Best Ways to Stop Smoking Cigarettes’ »

I’m not sure what it is about human nature that makes people think they know better than the people putting out the various products we use, but the more time I spend on the internet working with various otc medications, the more I’m sure that very few people read the directions anymore. In the case of hair spray and toothpaste, this may not be dire, there for the most part, things should be used as directed – teeth whiteners, cold medicine, and especially smoking cessation aids like nicotine patches.
The strange thing about the general population’s disregard for directions is that they always seem to think more is better. The logic goes something like, “Well, if 30 minutes a day will gradually whiten my teeth, 2 hours a day will making them sparkling white by tomorrow!” It doesn’t take into account the fact that products are formulated to work a certain way for a reason. In our whitestrips example, that reason is because whitening teeth too fast will make the teeth very sensitive, damage the enamel and can even create uneven whitening with white spots.
However, using nicotine patches incorrectly can have longer-lasting and more dramatic side effects. Using two nicotine patches will not make it easier to quit smoking, because the purpose of nicotine patches is not to “cure” nicotine addiction. Instead, it’s an effective way to gradually lessen the nicotine cravings and to minimize withdrawal symptoms. In other words, adding more nicotine patches in an effort to quit faster will actually make it harder to quit because it will take longer to get the nicotine out of your system.
Continue reading ‘Why Nicotine Patches Should Be Used As Directed’ »