| We've all seen those TV ads for the nicotine patch, | | | | don't just become replacements for cigarettes. |
| and you may have heard of other options like | | | | Rather, they are temporarily support devices that |
| nicotine gum. But do they really work? And are they | | | | help wean you away from cigarettes gradually, and |
| safe? | | | | thus much more effectively than stopping all at once. |
| Many would-be quitters get nervous about the idea | | | | Instead of shocking your body by depriving it entirely |
| of replacing one addictive substance-cigarettes-with | | | | of nicotine all of a sudden (which can result in |
| another. They view nicotine gum and patches | | | | uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms), these nicotine |
| skeptically, preferring to quit "cold turkey," with no | | | | replacement products help "step you down." They |
| medical help whatsoever. | | | | deliver increasingly smaller doses of nicotine, enabling |
| Unfortunately, many of the people who quit cold | | | | your body to readjust over time. As a result, you |
| turkey wind up smoking again within a few weeks or | | | | become addiction-free without a lot of the pain, |
| months. Why? Well, as you know, nicotine addiction | | | | discomfort and stress often associated with the "cold |
| isn't just a mental problem or a state of mind. It's an | | | | turkey" route. |
| actual physical disease that affects your body's | | | | Now this is not to say that you shouldn't stop all at |
| chemical makeup. Quitting isn't necessarily just a | | | | once. If you want to do it that way, and you think |
| matter of mind over matter-it's also a process of | | | | you can do it effectively, then by all means go |
| making your body less physically dependent on its | | | | ahead! But if you think you might need a bit of a |
| drug of choice and returning yourself to a pure, | | | | chemical support system to help you along the way, |
| natural state. | | | | then consider speaking to your doctor about the |
| There's no shame in using nicotine replacement | | | | following options, all approved by the F.D.A. |
| products to help you do this. Items like the patch | | | | |