Quitting Smoking 'Cold Turkey'

Now you have decided to quit smoking today, don't waste your time by trying to cut down a little at a time, or even using substitutes like nicotine patches or gum - really what's the point? Quitting smoking 'cold turkey' is really the only way to achieve your goal.

Although it is not really the only way to quit, it is definitely the way that shows the best success rate. That is to say, the majority of people who have successfully quit did it by going cold turkey.

You will find people who did manage to quit using nicotine replacement therapy or NRT, but all they have really done is to prolong the process. NRTs will cut out many of the thousands of chemicals present in cigarette smoke, while still introducing nicotine to the system. So the body is going through two processes over a longer period of time. Quitting smoking cold turkey takes the nicotine and all the chemicals out of your body in a relatively short time. You may suffer some pretty uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms, but will know that this will only last for the first few weeks: Using NRTs is just like substituting one drug for another, like a heroin addict using methadone to try to kick his habit.

Those who kick smoking through the use of NRTs really should be congratulated, as they have had to go through a much longer drawn-out process, which allows the nicotine addiction to control both the method and outcome.

It is really necessary to think of the quitting process as a new beginning; the start of a healthier lifestyle, rather than the end of something or the loss of a part of your life. Think positive and look forward to your new life with whiter teeth, fresher breath and clean smelling clothes, as well as a healthier body.

Quitting smoking cold turkey will be much easier if you attack it in the right frame of mind.

Did you know that nicotine is an organic-based alkaloid of the same family as cocaine, morphine, quinine and strychnine?!

A natural insecticide once sold in the US under the name Black Leaf 40 was actually nicotine! Pure nicotine could kill a human with just a few drops, making it more deadly than strychnine, arsenic, cyanide or rattlesnake venom.

Wow! And you want to pay money to put this into your system!

The 'high' experienced in smoking is from dopamine, the same chemical which produces the high from alcohol or heroin.

However experts claim that heroin produces a numb dopamine high, alcohol gives a drunken dopamine high, while the alert dopamine high from nicotine is the most likely to cause dependency.

So of course you are going to experience withdrawal symptoms while quitting smoking cold turkey, but there are aids and systems to help you deal with these symptoms and guide you through the ordeal more easily.

Quitting smoking cold turkey does not have to be a major battle; if you use the right system you should be able to quit smoking today without the need for substitutes of any kind.