How to quit smoking?

The personal history of any smoker starts with a long (months, years) and happy cohabitation with cigarette: initially, the sensation of pleasure and sense of freedom obscure any desire to quit smoking later the joy of smoking makes the smoker somehow blind to the disadvantages of her smoking.

 Over time, the dependence settling, chronic smoking cons end up appearing to him altered complexion, breath, fear of illness, awareness of its responsibility to the birth of a child are all … events that thwart, questioning his happiness to smoke the smoker and place in an uncomfortable situation of disagreement with himself, dissonance from its own behaviour. This is done by representing his only chance to make the decision to quit smoking.

 

This decision “mature” is itself essential to perseverance in the judgment. Then it is a real personal choice, motivated by strong arguments specific to smoking, ultimately the only effective to want to take charge and overcoming addiction.

 

Fortify its resolution

Motivated to quit smoking, you are concerned that this is for you superhuman test, the order of the insurmountable short, you doubt your ability to go through. The good news is that today every smoker who decides to stop this has to do a wide range of resources, both human and material, which can help develop a genuine therapeutic strategy adapted to its form of tobacco use, the degree of dependence, his health and personality.

 

Your entourage can support you in your motivation, encouragement. The pharmacist, doctor and the school nurse, doctor and nurse work, the doctor, the specialist (cardiologist, oncologist), the tobacco specialist, psychologist are among those that can bring you their advice, assistance and skill if you do not succeed alone. While nearly three-quarters of smokers who quit do so without any means other than the motivation of effective smoking cessation aid can also increase your chances of success by appropriate use and depending on your smoking profile: nicotine replacement therapies in various forms, medication, cognitive and behavioural therapies are part of these.

 

Overcoming the double tobacco dependence

There is a double smokers addiction to tobacco, which can be a serious obstacle to withdrawal:

physical dependence, pharmacological, primarily related to nicotine,

psychic and behavioural dependence, holding the conditioned reflex caused by certain situations (taking a coffee, answer the phone …) or in response to stress, looking for intellectual stimulation or just a feeling fun.

When you smoke a cigarette, inhaled nicotine reaches the brain very quickly, in a few seconds. There it stimulates receptors to nicotine, creating a sort of puff flash (like a shot) in the brain, causing and maintaining both physical dependence. Moreover, an addicted smoker sees the number of receivers increase. Vicious circle. The lack of sensation can be a serious obstacle, often impassable, weaning of a dependent smoker. Hence the idea to fill this gap, replace nicotine inhaled by smoking – which causes a rapid spike in the brain, stimulates receptors, addictive – controlled by nicotine.

 

The latter, contained in a patch (patch), a chewing gum, a tablet or an inhaler, will diffuse slowly without peak, with adaptations, controlled in quantity and selected moment. It will, of course, also devoid of any carbon monoxide and some four thousand other harmful substances contained in cigarette smoke. This substitution of nicotine actually manages to “deceive” the receivers by “stuffing” at all times. These, “virtually watered” gradually lose their craving for nicotine, some even disappear. 

 

No pic, no cardiovascular impact, so no cons-indication, including in cardiac patients, even after a myocardial infarction. We must, therefore, propose the use of nicotine replacement therapy to help coronary addicted to stop smoking and avoid their risk of tobacco-related offending.

Patches and oral substitutes

The patches stamps issue, continuously through the skin, nicotine. The latter, through the skin, penetrates into the vessels and goes to the brain. The objective is to meet the needs of nicotine receptors. Some postage patches are designed to nicotine diffusion spread over sixteen hours (waking up we ask them, are removed at bedtime), others are for a period of twenty-four hours (the poses we wake up replaces the following day at the same time). All are available in three strengths: strong, medium and weak. It is useful to associate that chewing gums that occasionally cover the residual cravings.

There are chewing gum shapes and varied tastes (dosed at 2 or 4 mg) of lozenges (1, 2 or 4 mg) or put under the tongue (2 mg), lozenges (1, 5 mg). The least known substitutes Oral probably the inhaler, consisting of a plastic mouthpiece and a cartridge containing nicotine (equivalent to 4 mg of nicotine provided by chewing gum). Pulling on the mouthpiece, the user of nicotine inhaler to tread through the small vessels of the mouth and the arteries to the brain nicotinic receptors. The evocative form of the device (some see it as a kind of “cigarette holder”) may be useful, for example, early weaning, for those who are struggling to get rid of body language (the act of smoking). The inhaler may be associated with another form of nicotine replacement therapy.

Cessation assistance drug

Bupropion is a drug which acts at the level of what is called the reward circuit that is to say the brain circuitry involved in the dependency phenomena. Prescription only, it has the effect of increasing the concentration of dopamine in the brain. Explanations …

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (such as serotonin or norepinephrine), substance released by the nerve endings, deeply involved in the circuits of pleasure. For example, eating chocolate has the effect of releasing dopamine.

Bupropion, a drug originally used as an antidepressant, and therefore decreases the urge to smoke. Smokers who take while continuing to smoke at start of treatment describe its effects as a different sensation, or disgust or revulsion rather a kind of vis-à-vis the cigarette indifference, where they experience the days less fun. Hence their questioning of the interest to continue smoking. Bupropion can therefore help to move more easily to smoking cessation in many bear the condition.

 

Varenicline: block nicotinic receptors

This partial agonist of nicotinic receptors known by its trade name Champix® stimulates and blocks both the nicotine receptors. In the absence of drug, nicotine is fixed on the receptors and, in the manner of a key, the lock opens , causing a series of chain reactions, including dopamine secretion, causing pleasure, relaxation, relaxation. .. and installation of addiction. With varenicline, and remains fixed therein y – receptors is both stimulated and locked – the sensation is firstly largely attenuated; secondly, the nicotine that would be made by the cigarette would not find its place on the receptors and thus provide over the usual effects expected by the smoker. This product represents a real help to stop at the addicted smoker.

 

Behavioral and cognitive therapies

Widespread in the Anglo-Saxon world, it is a way of psychotherapeutic care based on listening. It appealed to such motivational interviewing, which will help the patient to mature his decision to stop smoking. This is to help the person find their own arguments and to its own balance sheet, by weighing the advantages and disadvantages of weaning, given its location, environment, health, personality …

Other techniques are based on an analysis of behavior in which the individual note all the circumstances related to tobacco consumption: time, scoring the desire and the need that led him to smoke, description of the situation of thoughts and emotions, etc. if significant physical dependence, we can call in addition to pharmacological treatment.

Relapse or recovery! On the way to success…

It is not assured that seem to stop smoking for the first time. The events of life, lack of motivation, inadequate treatment … can cause a denial at weaning and lead to the resumption of smoking. Several experiments are sometimes necessary. There is nothing unusual: it is part of the history of smoking cessation. Stop after stop, every time you increase your chances of staying an ex-smoker for the rest of his days.

 

Stopping smoking is a succession of several stages, the reversal can be considered as an additional step. No one is immune to recovery, even after long periods of abstinence. The important thing is to be aware of in order to both avoid the pitfalls of an accident always possible and do not live the journey as a failure, with the risk of a final renunciation.