For smokers, there are also other properties in the smoke of tobacco, apart from nicotine, that may be addicting. Recent research has revealed that tobacco smoke (without nicotine) affects or reduces the levels of MAO A and B in the brain by about 40 percent. MAO A and B are chemicals in our brains that break down dopamine, our internal brain chemistry for pleasure. Thus, the concentration of dopamine in a smoker’s brain is increased, and smokers get additional pleasure from the tobacco smoke.
Until the 1980s, when the nicotine gum and patch were first made available by prescription, cold turkey was the only option for smokers when they wanted to quit. For many years after the nicotine gum and patches were available, most smokers still chose cold turkey because of the cost of using the nicotine replacement therapies, their side effects or the inconvenience of getting a prescription from a doctor to acquire them. Yet, the success rate for smokers who used the cold turkey method was very poor, with only 5 percent of smokers successfully staying tobacco-free for a year.
I recommend using the cold turkey method only if you smoke less than 10 cigarettes a day or use less than a half tin or package of smokeless tobacco per week. At this level of use, you are probably not addicted to nicotine, and, if you are, it is a mild addiction. Even with a mild nicotine addiction, you may be surprised to find how strong your attachment to the smoking or dipping habit is, and you may still need to use other strategies for stress management or behavior modification.
Cold turkey is no longer the quitting method chosen by most tobacco users, especially since the nicotine gum and patches are now available without a prescription and can be easily purchased over the counter in almost any pharmacy. Today, most successful tobacco users are combining a variety of strategies. Research has shown that increasing the number of strategies increases the probability of successfully quitting.
For heavily addicted tobacco users, the combination of using Zyban (an antidepressant, also sold as Wellbutrin, that is used in lower doses for smoking cessation) with a nicotine replacement therapy (like the nicotine patch, gum, inhaler or nasal spray) is showing to be effective 36 percent of the time. The use of medication helps to reduce the cravings for tobacco and gives the smoker or dipper time to practice new behaviors that will successfully replace old tobacco habits. If stress management, behavior modification, weight management and/or feeling management strategies are added to this combination, the success rate rises.
Tackling Tobacco Center has been designed to help you gather information about different types of strategies to help you reduce or quit your tobacco use. We have information about preparation, selection of medications, behavior modification, stress management, feeling management and weight management. We offer four live chats each week. Join us! Together we can tackle you tobacco habit!
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