People think that to give up smoking, all they need to do is to replace the nicotine provided by the cigarette. There are a variety of products on the market, many non-prescription, that give an ample supply of replacement nicotine. However, they aren’t very effective. The reason people continue to smoke is because of the Psychological Smoking Mechanism, not a need for nicotine.
In this article, we will 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 an extremely addictive substance. It had been blamed for the reason people think it is hard to quit smoking. paras nikotiinipussi Yet, using tobacco does not fit this is of a chemical addiction.
In the nicotine model, craving nicotine is what keeps an individual smoking. It followed that when nicotine could be provided from a source apart from cigarettes, the smoker would not crave cigarettes. Thus, the individual would quit smoking cigarettes by replacing the source of nicotine with a nicotine patch or nicotine gum. Then, the new source of nicotine could be gradually reduced over time before smoker’s “addiction” to nicotine was removed.
This would be considered a nice, simple solution if nicotine was the true driving force to smoke cigarettes. However, if you have various other reason people smoke, such as the Psychological Smoking Mechanism, supplying nicotine will not be a highly 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 cigarette smoking are nicotine patches and nicotine gum. They’re superb products and do precisely what they say; they give a very ample supply of nicotine. Because the smoker is getting generous levels of nicotine, which they are supposedly craving, the patches should be incredibly effective and take away the desire to have 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 also it was reduced to 9.2% at half a year. Considering it another way, at 6 weeks, 81% of individuals using nicotine patches were still smoking and at six months, about 91% were still smoking. Yes, 10% of those that had stopped were back at it again.
The outcomes for the gum was about the same. Despite the fact that 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 study showed that the 8% – 9% of individuals who had quit smoking using the nicotine patches and gum were highly motivated to give up smoking! Quite simply, these were removing their Psychological Smoking Mechanism.
A Real Life Example
A radio host was interviewing me concerning the Psychological Smoking Mechanism and in the course of the interview he explained that he was an ex-smoker. He said he had used nicotine gum to quit also it had taken him 2 yrs until he was finally off of cigarettes. TWO YEARS!
Think about that for a moment. The nicotine gum was providing a big supply of nicotine in the same way it is designed to do. Yet, this man was smoking AND chewing the nicotine gum. Put simply, the gum, packed with nicotine had not been substituting for the cigarette since it theoretical should have done.
Since the man wanted to quit, he finally stopped after 2 yrs. But it wasn’t the gum, it was 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 is Not the Motivator to Smoke
The volume of nicotine a smoker gets in a single cigarette is very small. Compare the cigarette to the body mass; it’s tiny therefore is the level 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 in to the smokers system to, theoretically at least, replace the need to smoke a cigarette. However, most smokers have adverse reactions to these products because they are getting more nicotine than they ever did smoking. What does all this extra nicotine do?
According to 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 isn’t the motivator to smoke.
Conclusion
If you pass the nicotine model to give up smoking, you will be disappointed. The only method to quit smoking is to take away the Psychological Smoking Mechanism through the use of proven, psychological techniques. Once the mechanism is fully 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? – The program that gives you the powerful psychological tools necessary to disassemble the Psychological Smoking Mechanism. This easy 28 day program helps you become, no ex-smoker, but a Non-smoker. Find out how this program will help you permanently remove cigarettes from your life.