People think that to quit smoking, all they have to do would be to replace the nicotine provided by the cigarette. There are numerous of products on the market, many over the counter, that provide an ample supply of replacement nicotine. However, they aren’t very effective. The reason why people continue 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 Model of Smoking

Back in the 1990’s, nicotine got labeled as a highly addictive substance. It was blamed for the reason why people find it hard to quit smoking. Yet, using tobacco does not fit the definition of a chemical addiction.

In the nicotine model, craving nicotine is what keeps a person smoking. It followed that when nicotine could possibly be provided from a source apart from cigarettes, the smoker would not crave cigarettes. Thus, the individual would stop smoking cigarettes by replacing the foundation of nicotine with a nicotine patch or nicotine gum. Then, the brand new source of nicotine could possibly be gradually reduced as time passes before smoker’s “addiction” to nicotine was removed.

This would be considered a nice, simple solution if nicotine was the true driving force to smoke cigarettes. However, when there is some other reason people smoke, such as the Psychological Smoking Mechanism, supplying nicotine will never 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 style 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. Because the smoker gets generous levels of nicotine, which they are supposedly craving, the patches should be incredibly effective and remove the desire to have 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 individuals on nicotine patches had stopped smoking at six weeks also it was reduced to 9.2% at half a year. Looking at it another way, at 6 weeks, 81% of individuals using nicotine patches were still smoking and at 6 months, about 91% were still smoking. Yes, 10% of these that had stopped were back at it again.

The results for the gum was about the same. Even though the gum was providing the smoker with plenty of nicotine, at 6 weeks, 84% of the people were still smoking and at 6 months, 92% were smoking.

The research showed that the 8% – 9% of the people who had stop smoking using the nicotine patches and gum were highly motivated to quit smoking! Basically, they were removing their Psychological Smoking Mechanism.

A Real Life Example

A radio host was interviewing me concerning the Psychological Smoking Mechanism and throughout the interview he explained that he was an ex-smoker. He said he previously used nicotine gum to quit also it had taken him two years until he was finally off of cigarettes. TWO YEARS!

nikotiini pussit Consider that for an instant. 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. Basically, the gum, loaded with nicotine had not been substituting for the cigarette as it theoretical should have done.

Since the man wanted to quit, he finally stopped after 2 yrs. Nonetheless 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 individuals in the study study mentioned above.

Nicotine is Not the Motivator to Smoke

How much nicotine a smoker gets in one cigarette is very small. Compare the cigarette to your system mass; it’s tiny and so is the level of nicotine it contains.

However, these very effective nicotine dispensing products, nicotine patches and gum contain nicotine. That’s what they’re made to do; put adequate nicotine into the smokers system to, theoretically at the very least, replace the necessity 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?

According to the American Lung Association, unwanted 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 has an effect on the smokers body. However, with all the things that smoking does to the smoker, it generally does not produce the consequences mentioned by the American Lung Association. This is another clue that nicotine is not the motivator to smoke.

Conclusion

If you pass the nicotine model to quit smoking, you are going to be disappointed. The only method to quit smoking would be to remove the Psychological Smoking Mechanism by using proven, psychological techniques. When 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.

Creator of The Unlearn Smoking Success System? – This program that gives you the powerful psychological tools essential to disassemble the Psychological Smoking Mechanism. This easy 28 day program helps you become, not an ex-smoker, but a Non-smoker. Find out how this program will help you permanently remove cigarettes from your own life.