The bottom line is that cigarette smoking is an addiction, both physiological and psychological. In that regard it has to be approached in a manner that any addiction would – controlling the withdrawal symptoms, reducing the stress or triggers that drives a person to use and support from family and friends. Some people have the willpower to go it alone and successfully give up their nicotine addiction but for most help is needed during the recovery period. Understanding the process and what to expect is the first step in overcoming it.

Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms

Nicotine is a stimulant and along with the other chemicals in cigarettes, it enhances the mood and increases stamina to some degree. Blood pressure and heart rate is also raised by cigarette smoking. In this regard, a person will feel “low” or “down” in terms of mood, tired and unlikely to be able to cope with daily activities as is normally the case. Irritability is another prominent feature when quitting. Difficulty concentrating and a “cloudiness” of the mind often drives a person to seek that “one last smoke” in order to get by the day.

However, this only serves to disenchant a person about their willpower to quit and lead to the misconception that cigarettes control them and can never be given up. It is therefore advisable that every person who decides to quit should consider nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), be it in the form of a nicotine spray, gum or patch. Even if it is not used, having it at hand will allow a person to better cope with the withdrawal symptoms and reach out for it when it is most needed.

Other symptoms that one can expect is very mild tremors, constipation and sleepiness throughout the day. Many people benefit from the use of antidepressants during this period, and the more popular smoking cessation drugs are actually antidepressants. This does not mean that every smoker or person who has just quit is depressed but rather the chemical effect of antidepressant helps to counteract the withdrawal symptoms. Acupuncture, meditation and breathing exercises may all prove useful to some degree and depends on a person’s preference in coping with the recovery period.

Support for Quitting Cigarettes

Support needs to be present at multiple levels. From the closest members of the family who assist with easing the daily stresses to friends and colleagues who discourage the odd smoke or even not smoke around the person. This should extend further with support groups in the area or even counseling by a trained professional on a one-on-one basis.

Avoiding the Triggers

Although quitting cigarettes should be dealt with on a day-by-day basis, it is often easier to monitor each hour in the first few days. Avoiding triggers that drives you to smoke is essential but first it must be identified. For some it is about having a smoke with that cup of coffee, or the social smoke break with colleagues at work. Others need to have a smoke after meals or while driving. Ideally these triggers should be dealt with prior to quitting cigarettes. In other words, if you have become accustomed to smoking with every cup of coffee, then first try to break this habit before you quit cigarettes. Avoid smokers as far as possible, and while this may make you a little anti-social at the outset, your friends and colleagues will understand that it is just one step in quitting.

Rewarding Yourself

Irrespective of our age, we all like to be rewarded for our efforts. Rewards for quitting smoking is the same. Save up the money that you would have otherwise spent on cigarettes and motivate yourself to keep off cigarettes. For moderate smokers, the money spent on cigarettes within a year can be a fair amount, which may not buy you exactly what you want but can still go a long way in affording a treat that you otherwise would not have considered. Most importantly, remind yourself of the health benefits of having quit and how this will be an advantage to both you and your dependents in the long run. That alone is often rewarding enough for most people.

Nicotine is one of the substances found in cigarettes and is a form of stimulant drug, it is one that can cause a multitude of serious health problems and is extremely addictive yet cigarettes are sold legally throughout the world and used by millions of people. Smoking involves inhaling not only nicotine but a large number of gases and tars and nicotine is thought to relax a person and help them concentrate better.

What’s in a cigarette?

There are over 4,000 chemicals which can be found in cigarette smoke, amongst them some of which may surprise you.

• Ammonia – This is found in toilet cleaners.
• Acetone – This is found in nail varnish remover.
• Cadmium – This substance is used in batteries and is a highly poisonous metal.
• Vinyl chloride – This is used in making PVC.
• Naphthalene – A substance which can be found in mothballs.
• Carbon monoxide – This is a lethal gas which is found in car exhaust fumes.
• Tar – This is the substance which clogs up the lungs of a smoker, when smoke is inhaled around 70% of the tar are deposited in the lungs. Condensed tar is the brown substance that stains the fingers and teeth of a smoker.
• Nicotine – This is the powerful drug which causes the addiction in the first place, when smoke is inhaled the nicotine gets into the blood stream and causes problems such as increased blood pressure and an increase in the heart rate.
• Cyanide – This substance is used in gas chambers.
• Formaldehyde – This is the substance used to preserve dead bodies.
• Arsenic – This is a poisonous substance.

Young smokers are usually addicted to nicotine within about a year of them first starting to smoke, if you would like to find out just how bad someone might be addicted to nicotine then just ask them 2 key questions.

1. How long is it before they have their first cigarette after getting up in the morning.
2. How many cigarettes does the person smoke throughout the day.

The shorter the time before reaching for their first cigarette of the day and the more cigarettes that they smoke throughout the day will give a person a good indication as to how addicted to nicotine they are.

If you or someone you know wants to give up smoking then there are several methods they can try to help them quit, many Doctor’s surgery’s have self help clinics posted and help for quitting can be gotten free by prescription providing you attend regular stop smoking meetings. Patches, nicotine gum and nasal sprays can also be bought over the counter from pharmacies.

Smoking can cause itchy throat due to direct irritation by smoke, or due to pus cought out in chronic bronchitis.