People think that to quit smoking, all they have to do would be to replace the nicotine supplied by the cigarette. There are a number of products available, many over-the-counter, that give an ample way to obtain replacement nicotine. However, they aren’t very effective. The reason people continue steadily to smoke is due to the Psychological Smoking Mechanism, not just a need for nicotine.
In this article, we shall look at some research on the potency of nicotine patches and gum.
The Nicotine Model of Smoking
Back in the 1990’s, nicotine got called a highly addictive substance. It had been blamed for the reason people think it is hard to quit smoking. Yet, using tobacco does not fit the definition of a chemical addiction.
In the nicotine model, craving nicotine is what keeps a person smoking. It followed that when nicotine could be provided from a source other than cigarettes, the smoker would not crave cigarettes. Thus, the individual would quit smoking cigarettes by replacing the foundation of nicotine with a nicotine patch or nicotine gum. Then, the brand new source of nicotine could be gradually reduced over time until the smoker’s “addiction” to nicotine was removed.
This would be considered a nice, simple solution if nicotine was the true driving force to smoke cigars. However, if there is some other reason people smoke, including the Psychological Smoking Mechanism, supplying nicotine will never be an 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’re superb products and do precisely what they say; they provide a very ample supply of nicotine. Since the smoker is getting generous amounts of nicotine, which they are supposedly craving, the patches should 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 these that had stopped were back at it again.
The outcomes for the gum was a comparable. Even though the gum was providing the smoker with a lot of nicotine, at 6 weeks, 84% of individuals were still smoking and at six months, 92% were smoking.
The research showed that the 8% – 9% of individuals who had stop smoking utilizing the nicotine patches and gum were highly motivated to give up smoking! Basically, 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 he was an ex-smoker. He said he previously used nicotine gum to give up also it had taken him two years until he was finally off of cigarettes. TWO YEARS!
Consider that for a moment. The nicotine gum was providing a big supply of nicotine just as it is designed to do. Yet, this man was smoking AND chewing the nicotine gum. In other words, the gum, loaded with nicotine had not been substituting for the cigarette since it theoretical should have done.
Since the man wished to quit, he finally stopped after 2 yrs. Nonetheless it wasn’t the gum, it had been him changing his Psychological Smoking Mechanism without even realizing consciously what he was doing. Just like the 8% – 9% of individuals in the research study mentioned above.
Nicotine isn’t the Motivator to Smoke
The volume of nicotine a smoker gets in a single cigarette is quite small. Compare the cigarette to your system mass; it’s tiny and so is the amount of nicotine it contains.
However, these very effective nicotine dispensing products, nicotine patches and gum contain nicotine. That’s what they’re designed to do; put adequate nicotine into 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 are getting ultimately more nicotine than they ever did smoking. nikotiinipussit netistä What does all of this extra nicotine do?
In line with the American Lung Association, side 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 effect on the smokers body. However, with the things that smoking does to the smoker, it generally does not produce the consequences mentioned by the American Lung Association. That is another clue that nicotine is not the motivator to smoke.
Conclusion
If you go by the nicotine model to quit smoking, you are likely to be disappointed. The only method to quit smoking would be 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 provides you the powerful psychological tools essential to disassemble the Psychological Smoking Mechanism. This easy 28 day program helps you become, not an ex-smoker, but a Non-smoker. Learn how this program can help YOU permanently remove cigarettes from your life.
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