Hello fellow warriors! Are you someone who is struggling to quit smoking? Well, you are not alone. Quitting smoking habit is one of the most difficult things to do. This is primarily because of physical and psychological addiction to nicotine. But don’t worry, it is not something that is achievable.
In this blog, we will introduce you to a tasty and effective way to deal with nicotine addiction – aka Anti Smoking Chewing Gums. But first lets talk a little bit more about the role of nicotine in making smoking an addictive habit.
Understanding nicotine addiction
Cigarettes contain tobacco and tobacco contains a highly addictive substance called nicotine. Apart from other toxins that are anyway harmful to the body, it is actually nicotine that makes the body dependent on smoking.
When inhaled, nicotine triggers the brain to release neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin – hormones that are responsible for creating a sense of relief or instant release of stress. This creates a sense of pleasure and reinforces the desire to repeat the behavior that led to its release – in this case, smoking or using tobacco.
As you get used to these feelings, you end up repeating the use of nicotine. This creates a strong association between cigarettes and certain activities or emotions. For example, every time you are in a stressful situation, be it at the office or anywhere else, you will start craving a cigarette. It eventually gets ingrained as a habitual behavior. These habits end up creating a stimulus for cravings.
And if you keep on falling to these cravings, the body adapt to the presence of nicotine and eventually starts demanding a higher dose to achieve the desired effects. This leads to an increase in the consumption of cigarettes.
The body becomes accustomed to functioning in a certain way and when the body does not get nicotine, it experiences physical symptoms known as nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
What are nicotine withdrawal symptoms?
Before we explain the symptoms to you, understand that they are absolutely normal and won’t hurt you as long as you learn to manage them. Some of the common nicotine withdrawal symptoms are:
1. Feeling irritated or upset – Lack of nicotine makes your body feel its absence. As there is no artificial trigger that is releasing dopamine, you feel agitated or moody.
2. Having a hard time concentrating – This happens during the initial days of quitting and it is again very normal. You can manage this symptom easily by cutting yourself some slack and refocusing on things that do not require much attention.
3. Feeling hungry or gaining weight – it is natural to compensate for lack of nicotine with food. All they want is to keep their hands and mouths busy. People who are trying to quit end up stuffing their stomachs with all their favorite items that are high in sugar content and calories. This leads to weight gain.
- Feeling anxious or depressed – this is again related to the lack of ‘feel-good’ hormone. Since your mind is used to having it occasionally, its absence causes the mind to feel sad or anxious.
5. Lack of sleep – another common symptom that is experienced by people who are trying to quit. This lasts longer than the rest but is again manageable. You can even talk to a physician if this gets worse and starts hampering your day-to-day life.Apart from the above-mentioned symptoms, some people also experience constipation, cough and cold. You do not have to scared of these symptoms because they are easily manageable.
Anti-smoking chewing gums – a tasty way to manage nicotine withdrawal symptoms
As the name suggests, these chewing gums can help you quit smoking by handling the nicotine dependency head-on. As a part of NRT, these gums come loaded with a certain amount of nicotine.
Here’s how they work –
When you chew on nicotine gums, they release a certain amount of nicotine which gets absorbed into your body through the mouth lining. This means that you give your body a certain amount of nicotine without the harmful effects of smoke. Since your body gets some nicotine, it becomes easier to fight the behavioral urges to smoke. The best thing about nicotine gums is that they come in different doses. You can start with a dose that matches your need and gradually decrease the dose as your body gets used to it. The idea is to eventually stop the nicotine.
How to use nicotine gums?
Using nicotine gums is quite simple. But there are a few dos and dont’s that you need to keep in mind while using them:
1. Chew on them carefully – unline regular chewing gums, you do not chew the nicotine gum fast and throw it out. You need to slowly chew on the gum and when it releases a peppery flavor, park it in between your gums and mouth. Keep it there for a few minutes and then start the cycle again. You need to continue doing this for about 30 mins or till when the nicotine gum looses its flavour.
2. Have one at a time – do not put more than one gum in your mouth at a time.
3. Do not swallow it – Swallowing the nicotine gum might cause intense stomach pain or worsen the nicotine craving
At last, remember that you use nicotine gums responsibly. Treat them as means to get off nicotine in cigarettes.
