Thursday, April 21, 2011

Combat your smoke cravings

We all know that smoking is bad for health; we all are aware of the short-term and the long-term health problems caused by smoking; yet we continue to smoke. In the UK, about 106,000 people die every year due to smoking-related diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Cigarette smoke contains about 60 substances that can cause cancer. If you are a smoker, your life-expectancy is about 10 years lesser than that of a non-smoker. The main cause of death in half of all smokers is smoking-related diseases. People who suffer from smoking problems have several years of distressing symptoms and illness.

Brain receptors

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances. It changes the chemical structure and function of brain. Nicotine affects certain receptors in the brain to produce physical and mood-altering effects. It also causes release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, which gives a feeling of pleasure. As a result, brain gets addicted for the same stimulus to get  the same pleasure. Since brain receptors are unable to block these pleasure signals, it becomes difficult to control the nicotine craving.

How can you control smoke urges?

If you are a regular smoker, when nicotine level in your blood falls, you usually experience withdrawal symptoms such as smoke cravings, headaches, anxiety, irritability, or restlessness. These smoke cravings sometimes are very hard to overcome with your willpower alone.

Nicotine replacement therapy: It helps you quit smoking without experiencing the withdrawal symptoms. It comes in the forms of gum, patch, nasal spray, and inhaler. Nicotine is released in the bloodstream in small amounts. In this way, without smoking cigarettes you can get nicotine in your body to relieve your withdrawal symptoms. Slowly, the amount of nicotine is reduced to curb the addiction. Some of the common side effects associated with nicotine replacement therapy are headaches, nausea, and dizziness. Nicotine patches can cause skin irritation and rashes. Also, nicotine nasal spray can cause sore throat, sneezing, and runny nose.

Champix - An easy way to quit smoking

Champix is the FDA-approved medication designed to help smokers quit smoking. Varenicline tartrate, the active ingredient in Champix, work by attaching itself to nicotine receptors in brain. It stops these receptors from responding to nicotine. As a result, there is no release of dopamine and no feeling of pleasure. This makes smoking displeasing and you do not get any enjoyable effect out of smoking. This way, Champix can help you reduce your nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

A few mild-to-moderate side effects are associated with Champix. These side effects are treatable and reversible, which means that once your body adjusts to the medication or  you discontinue taking it, you experience no side effects. Safety and efficacy of Champix outweighs the mild side effects associated with it. Champix does not contain nicotine, which makes it one of the most preferred medications for smoking cessation. It is never too late to stop smoking to live a healthy life.

1 comment:

  1. There are many benefits that come with quitting smoking. All these benefits carry a lot of weight in ensuring you remain healthy for a long time. While you may know these benefits, it is still important to list them down and remind yourself again, when you are beginning your journey to quit smoking.
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