Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Quite a few years ago a client came to my quit smoking practice and informed me that he knew I could help him because "smoking is all in the mind". He had arrived at that conclusion because a few years earlier, attempting to quit smoking cold turkey, the withdrawal symptoms became a bit too much for him. Desperate to stop and at his wit's end he remembered that his wife had some nicotine replacement patches at home. He jumped into his car, drove home, found the patches, and attached one to his arm. He felt better immediately, returned to work and felt fine for the rest of the day. It was only when he read the information leaflet later that evening that he realised that it takes time for the patches to kick in. Realising that the patches didn't work instantly, he came to the understanding with which he greeted me. He may have experienced what is known as the Placebo Effect.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy or NRT today comes in quite a few forms. In addition to the traditional patches quitters now have a choice of sprays, gums, lozenges, tablets and more. Due no doubt to the financial might of its producers it has become the most heavily advertised stop smoking approach ever.
NRT is based on the "Weaning Off" principle developed to help heroin and other hard drug addicts get away from their addictive substances. The idea is to supply Nicotine, the so-called "addictive element" in cigarettes in a safer way without the many chemicals and "rituals" associated with burning tobacco. Once the transition has taken place the user is then weaned slowly off the nicotine.
An article in Science Daily in February 2010 pointed out that studies funded by the manufacturers of these products tend to show better results than studies carried out independently. The same article notes that studies by independent investigators rarely result in favourable recommendations for NRT.
The February 2010 article also reported that an overemphasis on quit methods such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) has led to an unnecessary "medicalization" of smoking cessation, especially when there is good evidence that the most successful method used by most ex-smokers is to quit smoking cold turkey or to reduce and then quit. Based on this article, NRT may well be a largely unnecessary approach.
Almost every stop smoking client who visits my office has tried NRT at some stage in their attempts to quit cigarettes. Many comment on how expensive it is to follow the recommended program, especially if they are ultimately unsuccessful in their efforts to stop smoking.
In my experience, while some people do quit cigarettes in this way, most will fail. Apart from sometimes having to deal with the side effects of NRT (headaches, rashes and insomnia are often reported to me), in many cases quitters will still have to face similar if not the same intensity of withdrawals as with Cold Turkey.
Also, quite a few of my clients have come to regard NRT as a kind of self-delusion in that quitting nicotine in cigarettes by taking it in a different form doesn't make sense. They also recognise that smoking isn't just about Nicotine; after all there are around 4000 other chemicals in a cigarette. And of course people smoke for psychological and non-chemically dependent physical reasons also.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy may help you quit cigarettes, but the evidence suggests that it is not the best approach.
James Jameson is a highly qualified experienced successful Stop Smoking Specialist who powerfully helps clients quit cigarettes in a single one hour session.
James would love to work with you either in person or via Skype.
For more information please visit James' website http://stopsmokingirl.com
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