Smokers who try to quit using forms of nicotine replacement therapies are just as likely to stay golden or relapse within 6 months. The patches, gums, smokeless cigarettes and so forth really don’t do anything except lend you a crutch to help you limp through the withdrawl period of physically not smoking. This has literally nothing to do with your nicotine addiction, which is the real problem here. All of these “crutches” keep you pumped full of the highly toxic nicotine.
Past studies have shown that nicotine medications are effective in helping smokers get past the physical withdrawal period when most quitters relapse. This can be true for some people and not for others. Our bodies and chemistry are all different and what worked for your friend may not work for you.
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health take issue with what they describe to be a misconception by the public: that nicotine medications will help them with quitting after going through nicotine withdrawal. That doesn’t even touch on the throat or mouth cancer possibilities from using these replacement medications. You are still at risk as long as you are still putting nicotine in your body.
“The perception of the public using the product is that these are good forever – that these will result in you not smoking in three, five, 10 years,” says Greg Connolly, Director of the Center for Global Tobacco Control at the Harvard School of Public Health. “Well, they were never designed to do that. They were designed to treat withdrawal, which is a symptom that occurs from stopping to probably six months, and then it usually ends.”
After the initial six-month window, about one-third of former smokers will relapse into smoking again regardless of whether they used nicotine medications, according to the study.
“By taking nicotine replacement therapy in those first few weeks following cessation of
tobacco cigarettes and tobacco products, you’re going to more than double your chances [of success] versus placebo. So that means when you get to your six-month point, there will be twice as many people who have successfully abstained compared to placebo.”
About 70% of current smokers say they want to quit smoking completely, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking causes about 1 of every 5 deaths in the U.S. each year. Put down your cigarettes but do it for a good reason and have your heart 100% in it. Do it for your kids, your parents, or your spouse. Let them be your crutch in the beginning and eventually you will see that you are doing this for yourself.
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