The option to quit cold turkey has been mooted by many of us who have wanted to quit smoking for good. But why quit cold turkey and suffer through withdrawal when you can quit smoking through nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), a technology that could slowly, but surely help you quit smoking.
Nicotine is a chemical that makes you dependent on it, and quitting smoking induces nicotine withdrawal symptoms that could include everything from headaches, nausea to depression. NRT makes use of several alternatives to smoking, including gum, patches, inhalers, lozenges, and sprays that contain nicotine, thus allowing the person to quit smoking one step at a time, ingesting less and less nicotine on a daily basis.
NRT may still utilize nicotine as a way to get the smoker off the habit for good, but doesn’t include the other harmful agents one can ingest from cigarette smoking, so at the end of the day, it is still healthier.
Instead, NRT is a tool for a smoker to concentrate on the psychological aspect of the addiction. Many people neglect the fact that quitting cold turkey causes withdrawal, and when most people can’t cope with withdrawal, they go back to the vice they were trying to quit in the first place.
There would still be withdrawal symptoms when someone uses NRT, but they would be very minimal as the tiny doses of nicotine are enough to satisfy most urges to smoke. When asked about why they were not able to quit, most smokers answered that simply quitting smoking did not work due to the withdrawal symptoms involved.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy does not help you with the mental phase of addiction. It only serves to lessen the physical cravings. You, as the smoker, may need to utilize other tools in battling the mental phase of cigarette addiction.
Replacement therapy is also a bit riskier than quitting smoking on your own, so before you give any form of NRT a try, check with your doctor to see if it would be a good idea on you or not.
NRT works best when it is used the very first time you try to quit smoking. You shouldn’t continue smoking and using NRT at the same time. This would be defeating the purpose as well as increasing health risks on your end.
Whether you choose nicotine patches, gum, nasal spray, inhalers, or lozenges, you may experience some minor side effects. So once again, don’t try any form of NRT unless you have your doctor’s explicit approval and understand the side effects.
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