Medical Treatment

Smoking is the worst of all habits and can be really difficult to give up. But if you really want to quit smoking and are serious about it, go for a safe smoking cessation treatment. Most people can not quit smoking mainly because of the headaches and tension they fell when they try to quit smoking. These feelings can be attributed to withdrawal symptoms.

Your decision to quit smoking will yield many benefits such as :

a) live longer and better
b) lower your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or cancer
c) improve your chances of having a healthy baby
d) save people you live with especially your children
e) more money to spend on things other then cigarettes

Quitting is not easy. Every year, 34% of all smokers try to quit, but only about 2.5%succeed.

There are a wide range of alternative treatments that can help a smoker quit the habit. The treatments including hypnotherapy, herbs, acupuncture and meditation. For example, a controlled trial demonstrated that self-massage can help smokers crave less intensely, smoker fewer cigarettes, and in some cases completely give them up.

Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy helps the smoker achieve a trance-like state, during which the deepest levels of the mind are accessed. A session with a hypnotherapist may begin with a discussion of whether the smoker really wants to and truly has the motivation to stop smoking. The therapist will explain how hypnosis can reduce the stress-related symptoms that sometimes come with kicking the habit.

Often the therapist will discuss the danger of smoking with the patient and begin to “reframe” the patient’s thinking about smoking. Many smoker are convinced they can’t quit, and the therapist can help persuade them that they can change this behavior. These suggestions are then repeated while the smoker is under hypnosis. The therapist may also suggest while the smoker is under hypnosis that his feelings of worry, anxiety, and irritability will decrease.

Aromatherapy

The vapor black pepper extract can reduce symptoms associated with smoking withdrawal. Other essential oils can be used for relieving the anxiety a smoker often experiences while quitting.

Herbs

A variety of herbs can help smokers reduce their cravings for nicotine, clam their irritability, and even reverse the oxidative cellular damage done by smoking. Herbs that can help relax a smoker during withdrawal include wild oats and kava-kava. To reduce the oral fixation supplied by a nicotine habit, a smoker can chew on licorice root- the plant, not the candy. Licorice is good for the liver, which is a major player in the body’s detoxification process. Licorice also acts s a tonic for the adrenal system, which helps reduce stress. And there’s an added benefit : if a smoker tries to light up after chewing on licorice root, the cigarette tastes like burned cardboard. Other botanicals that can help repair free-radical damage to the lungs and cardiovascular system are those high in flavonoids, such as hawthorn, gingko, biloba and bilberry.

Acupuncture

This ancient Chinese method of healing is used commonly to help beat addictions, including smoking. The acupuncturist will use hair-thin needles to stimulate the body’s qi, or healthy energy. Acupuncture is a sophisticated treatment system based on revitalizing qi, which supposedly flows through the body in defined pathways called meridian. During an addiction like smoking, qi isn’t flowing smoothly or gets stuck, the theory goes. Points in the ear and feet are stimulated to help the smoker overcome his addictions. Often the acupuncturist will recommend keeping the needles in for five to seven days to calm the smoker and keep him balanced.

Vitamins

Smoking seriously depletes vitamin C in the body and leaves it more susceptible in infections. Vitamin C can prevent or reduce free radical damage by acting as an antioxidant in the lungs. Smokers need additional C, in higher dosage than nonsmokers. Vitamin therapy doesn’t reduce craving but it can help beat some of the damage created by smoking. Vitamin B 12 and folic acid may help protect against smoking- induced cancer.

Allopathic Treatment

Smokers who want to quit need lots of support and encouragement to help handle the inevitable urges to light up. It helps to quit with a friend or to join a group or behavioral counseling. These groups provide support and teach behavior modification methods that can help the smoker quit. The smoker’s physician can often refer him to such groups.


Other alternatives to help with the withdrawal symptoms of kicking the habit include nicotine replacement therapy in the form of gum, patches, nasal sprays, and oral inhalers. This tapering helps wean the smoker from nicotine slowly, eventually beating his addiction to the drug. But when the smoker lights up while taking a nicotine replacement, a nicotine overdose may cause serious health problems.