Before you start down the path of quitting tobacco, it is important to get educated, first and foremost. The more you know about the quitting process and the options you have for additional support, the better your chances of quitting will be!

If you use tobacco, it is likely you already know about the harmful effects long-term use can have on your health and your wallet. But, here’s the good news: the moment you quit, your body begins its recovery process. And the savings will start adding up, too.

Would you start out on any journey without a map or a plan or a purpose? The journey of quitting tobacco is no different. First, understanding why you smoke — and knowing your own routines and “triggers” — can help you create a plan for how you will deal with them.

Most tobacco users want to quit. But it’s not as simple as wanting. Preparation and planning are key to increasing your chances for success.

What is nicotine dependency?
Nicotine binds to areas in the brain called receptors and stimulates the release of feel-good chemicals. Over time, the number of receptors increases and they become de-sensitized, resulting in a continued need for more nicotine.

Tobacco users also have many social and emotional ties to tobacco that make it hard to quit. Our brains learn to associate tobacco use with certain times of day, places, moods (e.g. stress) and activities.

Learning to develop new associations is an essential part of becoming a successful quitter. But, for many smokers, it can be hard to break the psychological ties to smoking while getting over nicotine withdrawal symptoms at the same time. For most people, the best way to quit will be some combination of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), a method to change personal habits, and emotional support.

How do stop smoking aids work?
When you first stop smoking, you may feel uncomfortable and will likely have a strong urge to smoke. This is due to withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal is your body getting used to not having nicotine. Stop smoking aids, also called nicotine replacement therapies, help reduce these feelings of withdrawal and cigarette cravings.

Using a nicotine replacement therapy can double your chances of quitting for good. They help reduce your cravings and withdrawal symptoms by providing you nicotine, but none of the other dangerous chemicals that are in cigarettes or chewing tobacco.

NRT options include gum, lozenges, patches, an inhaler and nasal spray. Gum, lozenges and patches are available without a prescription.

By now you’ve spent some time getting educated and preparing to quit. You have a plan and you’ve selected the nicotine replacement therapy that will help you manage your withdrawal symptoms in the initial weeks after quitting. You also know what your triggers are and you have a plan for how you are going to deal with them. You’ve told your friends and family of your plans, and you’ve asked for their support. You are ready to begin your journey, one with a very healthy reward waiting for you at the end.

Okay, let’s face it. Quitting tobacco — even with support and nicotine replacement therapy — is still hard! Maybe one of your “triggers” got the best of you last weekend and you slipped up … and had a cigarette. Now, don’t sweat it, and, most important, don’t let it do you in! Resume your nicotine replacement therapy and work to create a new plan to manage the trigger(s) that may have led to your slip in the first place. Slip-ups happen; keep going!

Hopefully by now you’ve been smoke-free for a few months or longer. You’ve formed new habits to deal with most of your triggers. And, hopefully, you’ve gradually lowered or reduced your reliance on nicotine replacement therapies. But, if you need a little more time and support, that’s okay, too. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of nicotine replacement therapies for longer than 12 weeks if you continue to need it for a bit longer. Stay strong and stay quit, for good. You’ve got this!

Quitting cold turkey isn't recommended

Less than 5% of the 13 million smokers trying to quit each year will succeed. That's because your body physically craves nicotine. The cravings begin when your brain stops getting nicotine. And when your brain wants nicotine, it's hard to tell it no. It's for this reason that quitting "cold turkey" is often unsuccessful.

According to one study, over 95% of "cold turkey" quitters start smoking again within 6-12 months. The most widely used method of quitting smoking is also the most misunderstood. Going it alone, or trying to quit smoking "cold turkey," means relying solely on your willpower to quit. Because nicotine is so addictive, people often underestimate how difficult it is to resist cravings simply using willpower.

That's where nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products, like Nicorette Gum, Nicorette Lozenge, and the NicoDerm CQ Patch, can help. NRT products can ease your body safely off of nicotine by releasing controlled amounts of nicotine slowly, when used as directed. This allows you to focus on staying smoke-free without burning out your willpower.

This material is paid for and provided by GSK Consumer Healthcare.

Cigarettes contain a natural substance called nicotine, which is addictive. When you smoke, the nicotine in a cigarette enters your blood and is carried to your brain. There, it causes a chemical reaction that can lead to feelings of pleasure, relaxation and satisfaction. These feelings are only temporary, but over time the brain changes and begins to expect them.

This works a bit like hunger. The longer you go without food, the more signals your brain sends to your body to tell it you are hungry and need to eat. It is the same with smoking. The longer you go without a cigarette, the more signals your brain sends to your body telling it you need to smoke.

This is what causes temptation when you try to give up. Most smokers will find it difficult to ignore the temptation to smoke. Just as your natural reaction to hunger is to eat, your natural reaction to lack of nicotine is to smoke.

One way to overcome the body's need for nicotine is to stop smoking but continue to supply your body with a smaller amount of nicotine. As your body adapts to having less nicotine, you will experience temptation less often. Eventually you can completely stop supplying your body with nicotine. This is the idea behind a type of treatment called nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).

With nicotine replacement therapy, nicotine can be taken in three ways:

Patches:
These look like large adhesive bandages, and are stuck onto the skin in the same way. The sticky side of the patch contains a layer of nicotine. While you are wearing the patch, the nicotine passes through the skin into your blood.

Gum:
This looks like regular chewing gum, but it also contains nicotine. As you chew the gum and hold it in your mouth, the nicotine passes through the skin inside your mouth into your blood.

Lozenges:
These work like the gum, but you allow them to dissolve in your mouth instead of chewing them.

The way you get nicotine from nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products like NicoDerm^® CQ^® differs from the way you get it from cigarettes. When you puff on a cigarette, you get a rush of nicotine to the brain. You don't get the same rush from NRT — instead it delivers nicotine to your brain in smaller amounts and in a steady stream. This helps to reduce the symptoms you experience from lack of nicotine and makes it easier for you to use your willpower to stop smoking.

Each form of NRT comes in different strengths. The strength you begin with depends on how much you smoke or when you usually smoke your first cigarette. After you have been successful using the initial dose for a while, you can usually switch to a lower dose. Eventually you can stop using NRT altogether.

Using NRT means that you continue to take nicotine for a while after you stop smoking. But this is safer than continuing to smoke. Nicotine is addictive but it is the other ingredients in cigarettes that cause the most harm to your body.

NRT will help you overcome your addiction to nicotine. You are twice as likely than placebo to quit successfully if you use it. You can also increase your chances of success if you combine NRT with a behavioral support program (BSP). The BSP will help you learn how to give up your smoking habit and encourage you to keep using your NRT. Together, they can help you achieve a smoke-free life.

This material is paid for and provided by GSK Consumer Healthcare.

Therapeutic nicotine products like patches, lozenges and gum are safer than smoking.

Cigarette smoke, on the other hand, is composed of over 7,000 chemicals, making it deadly.

NRT products are designed to provide a temporary source of therapeutic nicotine. This can be reduced gradually over a period of time to make it easier to adjust to life without cigarettes. If you follow your NRT program correctly, you can be nicotine-free by the end.

Although a nonsmoker might feel sick if they used NRT products, they are safe for people who smoke regularly. The side effects you might get from them are generally mild. You might get a slightly sore throat if you use nicotine lozenges or gum. Nicotine patches can cause redness and itching. You should always read the information in the pack before you use a product. In the unlikely event that you experience unusual or severe side effects, contact a health care professional.

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, the best course of action is to give up smoking without using an NRT product. However, it is better to stop smoking using these products than to continue smoking. As with all medicines, if you are pregnant and want to use these products, you should talk to a health care professional first.

NRT products can also be used by people with heart disease unless you're in hospital because of heart problems. In which case consult your doctor before use of NRT.

This material is paid for and provided by GSK Consumer Healthcare.