Ultimate Guide To Quitting Smoking

Nicotine dependency has to be dealt with in the right way. Not every one has the will-power to stop this addiction cold turkey and on their own. The addiction to nicotine has emotional, psychological and physical affect on the smoker and these all need to be dealt with when they stop this habit. An addiction such as this is not something that is easy to control and people around you will always still smoke. You can’t go changing your entire circle of friends just because they are smokers.

What seems to be working very well is the free telephone counseling some states in the US have started. Counseling is a far better alternative to nicotine replacement therapy and has actually proven to be working. Findings have shown that with this kind of support, smokers are twice as likely to stop.

If you think that heroin is a habit forming substance, look at the amount of smokers there are compared to the amount of heroin addicts. You will notice a substantial difference! Nicotine is an incredibly habit forming drug, one of the worst we actually know of. It is because of this that it is so difficult to stop the habit and because of this that support is so vital. Encouragement from everyone involved in the life of the smoker is necessary, and it is the one main factor that smokers who have been successful say they could not have done without.

Information for the smoker who wants to stop is available from many resources. Health insurance companies, your local gym, hospitals, support groups and even your employer. However these just make some of the resources available, and the most efficient assistance does come from a trained counselor.

Group or individual counseling may be sought, and as we said before this is available free in some US states, over the phone. These counselors know that there is more to stopping smoking than just stopping, they realize an addiction of this type also has its physical, emotional and psychological side-effects.

The addiction to nicotine is a very strong addiction, the drug remains in the body for as many as three to four days after stopping and then the withdrawals symptoms start. These symptoms are understood by counselors and they will be able to help you recognize them and overcome them. Withdrawal symptoms may last as little as a few days or as long as a few weeks so you need all the support you can muster. It is during this stage that the smoker is most likely to start smoking again, just to ease the withdrawal symptoms.

Counseling is far more effective than NRT, because with NRT you are still putting this addictive drug into your body. You don’t need to do this, nor do you have to use other dangerous drugs if you have the right people on your side in your quest to stop smoking Medical research has shown that individuals who receive counseling are 4 times more likely succeed than by using any other method to quit smoking.