How to Successfully Kick Nicotine Addiction – Beyond Willpower





Although willpower is absolutely necessary to successfully quit smoking, the knowledge on how to incorporate this willpower into your everyday, now smoke-free life is not less important. Tobacco cravings and harsh withdrawal symptoms are hard to overcome, but if you really want to kick your cigarette habit for good you have to learn how to trick the brain’s dependency to the powerful drug nicotine. Often, people who quit smoking “cold turkey” experience strong cigarette craving when they drink coffee or alcohol, perform creative activities, such as writing articles or painting, or go to clubs where they used to smoke in a familiar, supportive environment.


When the central nervous system is hooked on nicotine, it links everyday activities with tobacco consumption. Therefore, to quit smoking successfully, you have to overcome both habitual and physical addiction. Incorporating behavioural changes and learning how to choose healthier options in your everyday life is the key to winning over the dark nicotine monster.

To overcome physical addiction, you can try products that contain therapeutic nicotine, such as patches, gums, lozenges or inhalers, which slowly release strictly measured quantities of the drug into your system. Studies show that nicotine replacement therapy almost doubles smoking cessation success rates! Using nicotine patches or gums helps to curb acute symptoms of cigarette withdrawal, thus allowing your body to adjust to a new, smoke-free life.

Numerous research show that the overwhelming majority of those who attempt to quit smoking without pharmaceutical help, solely depending on their willpower, start consuming tobacco products again within a period of one year or less. Experts say that chemical dependency to nicotine can be compared to that of strong synthetic drugs, such as heroin, and is very hard to resist and overcome. The reason for that is that the drug nicotine activates certain areas in the brain that are responsible for producing pleasurable sensations of happiness and well-being. Just like heroin or cocaine, nicotine stimulates the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine. Once the central nervous system becomes addicted to elevated levels of dopamine fired up by smoking, it associates the release of this pleasurable chemical with smoking and cigarette habits.

Unfortunately, cigarette cravings only become worse once you decide to quit smoking and your brain is deprived from a constant supply of dopamine-stimulating nicotine. This mechanism explains cases of weight gain and mild depression in most quitters, which can linger for months and even years after stopping smoking. Nicotine replacement therapy thus becomes a very efficient method of overcoming cravings, stabilizing moods, controlling weight gain and depression, and returning to a healthy, cigarette-free life for good.

Darlene Marlow

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Posted on July 21, 2008 
Filed Under How to Quit Smoking, Stop Smoking

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