People think that to give up smoking, all they have to do is to replace the nicotine supplied by the cigarette. There are a number of products on the market, many over the counter, that give an ample way to obtain replacement nicotine. However, they aren’t very effective. The reason why people continue steadily to smoke is due to the Psychological Smoking Mechanism, not just a need for nicotine.

In this article, we will look at some research on the effectiveness of nicotine patches and gum.

The Nicotine Style of Smoking

Back in the 1990’s, nicotine got called an extremely addictive substance. It was blamed for the reason why people think it is hard to quit smoking. Yet, cigarette smoking does not fit this is of a chemical addiction.

In the nicotine model, craving nicotine is what keeps a person smoking. It followed that if nicotine could possibly be provided from the source other than cigarettes, the smoker would not crave cigarettes. Thus, the person would quit smoking cigarettes by replacing the foundation of nicotine with a nicotine patch or nicotine gum. Then, the new source of nicotine could be gradually reduced over time until the smoker’s “addiction” to nicotine was removed.

This would be a nice, simple solution if nicotine was the real driving force to smoke cigars. However, when there is various other reason people smoke, like 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 model of cigarette smoking are nicotine patches and nicotine gum. They are superb products and do precisely what they say; they provide a very ample supply of nicotine. Since the smoker gets generous levels of nicotine, that they are supposedly craving, the patches should be incredibly effective and take away the desire for 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 people on nicotine patches had stopped smoking at six weeks also it was reduced to 9.2% at six months. Considering it another way, at 6 weeks, 81% of the people 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 results for the gum was about the same. Despite the fact that the gum was providing the smoker with plenty 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 stop smoking using the nicotine patches and gum were highly motivated to give up smoking! Quite simply, they were removing their Psychological Smoking Mechanism.

A GENUINE Life Example

A radio host was interviewing me about the Psychological Smoking Mechanism and in the course of the interview he explained he was an ex-smoker. He said he had used nicotine gum to quit and it had taken him two years until he was finally from cigarettes. TWO YEARS!

Think about that for a moment. The nicotine gum was providing a large supply of nicotine just as it is designed to do. Yet, this man was smoking AND chewing the nicotine gum. Quite simply, the gum, packed with nicotine was not substituting for the cigarette since it theoretical must 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 the people in the study study mentioned above.

Nicotine is Not the Motivator to Smoke

The amount of nicotine a smoker gets in one cigarette is quite small. Compare the cigarette to your system mass; it’s tiny and so is the amount of nicotine it contains.

However, these very effective nicotine dispensing products, nicotine patches and gum are loaded with 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 effects to these products because they’re getting ultimately more nicotine than they ever did smoking. What does all this extra nicotine do?

In line with 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 the skin
Diarrhea
Yes, nicotine does have an impact on the smokers body. However, with all the current items that smoking does to the smoker, it generally does not produce the effects mentioned by the American Lung Association. This is another clue that nicotine isn’t the motivator to smoke.

Conclusion

If you pass the nicotine model to quit smoking, you will definitely be disappointed. The only method to quit smoking is to remove 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.

www.puffandpouch.com Creator of The Unlearn Smoking Success System? – This 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. Learn how this program may help you permanently remove cigarettes from your own life.