Hendra Kharisma

Nicotine Nasal Spray: Nicotine is absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream through a prescription nasal spray. The spray eliminates cravings and withdrawal symptoms when used. The FDA alerts the user to addictive properties inherent in the nasal spray and does not allow it to be prescribed for longer than 6 months. Side effects include: runny nose, sneezing, throat irritation, coughing, watery eyes and nasal irritation. Nasal spray is not recommended for those with allergies, asthma, nasal polyps or sinus problems. See your doctor for alternatives.

Nicotine inhaler- A prescription method developed in 1998. The inhaler is similar to smoking a cigarette, using a plastic tube that contains a nicotine cartridge. The quitter puffs on the inhaler to administer a nicotine vapor. Recommended dosage: 6-16 cartridges per day for up to 6 months.

Side effects: coughing, throat irritation, upset stomach.

These are the most expensive form of NRT.

The Lozenge- Nicotine lozenges are the newest NRT on the market. The FDA approved an over-the-counter smoking cessation aid in a lozenge called the Commit. The lozenge is available in 2mg and 4mg. As with the gum, the quitter administers as need and cravings surface. The manufacturer recommends a 12 week program, 1 lozenge every 1-2 hours for 6 weeks. Tapering off gradually by using one lozenge every 2-4 hours for week 7 through week 9 and one lozenge every 4-8 hours for the final two weeks.

The Commit manufacturer recommends:

“Stop all tobacco use when beginning therapy with the lozenge.

Do not eat or drink for 15 minutes before using the lozenge. (Some beverages can reduce the effectiveness of the lozenge).

Suck on the lozenge until it dissolves. Do not bite or chew it like a hard candy, and do not swallow it.

Do not use more than 5 lozenges in 6 hours, or more than 20 lozenges total per day.

Stop using the lozenge after 12 weeks. If you still feel you need to use the lozenge, talk to your doctor.

Do not use the lozenge if you continue to smoke, chew tobacco, use snuff or any other product containing nicotine (e.g., nicotine patch or gum).”

Side effects: sleeping problems, nausea, coughing, headache, heartburn, hiccups and flatulence (gas).

Despite the side effects, NRT has been proven to be an effective tool for smokers who decide it is time to quit. No one method is better than any other and the smoker/quitter can decide for themselves which method might help them the most. Is it that you need to replace the oral fixation that smoking provides and will be missed with the cessation of smoking? Is it important not to be reminded of smoking, using a once a day convenience??

Aside from NRT, there are also prescription medications you can ask your doctor about to assist you with quitting smoking. Some are used in conjunction with NRT. Bupropion (Zyban) and Varenicline (Chantix) are the two new prescription medications available. Zyban is an antidepressant and Chantix is specific designed to help you quit smoking. Ask your doctor what is right for you.

The human brain weighs approximately three pounds and influences everything a person does. You may not realize it, but your brain is not the same today as it was yesterday or last month. The brain is a continuously changing collection of cells. When you learn something new or have a new experience, new synapses form. Some synapses get stronger, or some synapses may even disappear. Your brain even enables you to feel pleasure. Whenever you do something that you enjoy, such as eating your favorite snack, drinking a cold drink on a hot summer day, or laughing with your friends, the reward pathway in your brain is activated. It is that stimulation of the neurons in the reward pathway that makes you feel good.
Cocaine acts on the neurons in the reward pathway. Cocaine increases the release of dopamine. The increased dopamine levels give drug abusers the rush or a high that they enjoy for a short time. The feelings of pleasure the drugs create only last a short time, but drugs can cause changes in the brain that last a very long time. Some of the changes may even be permanent.

One of the changes that occur when a person takes Cocaine is the development of cravings. If a person takes Cocaine and then stops taking it, he or she will crave the drug. In other words, the individual will have a strong desire to take more of the drug. Cocaine exerts such a strong effect that even the mention of it may stimulate cravings in Cocaine addicts. Figuring out why addicts are so prone to relapse is a major area of research. One culprit is the phenomenon of craving, or the powerful “hunger” for drugs that can linger months or years after an addict quits using. Scientists have discovered evidence that this craving may be partly a physiological phenomenon, related to the long-term changes in brain function that addiction causes. Now accustomed to functioning in the presence of drugs, the addicted brain, in essence, has become unable to function normally in their absence.

As you have learned in previous, on a short-term basis, Cocaine alters the release of dopamine. But what happens when a person takes Cocaine over a long period of time? Does the body respond to it in the same way it did when the person tried the drugs for the first time? Often, the individual doesn’t get as intense of a response after taking it repeatedly. This is called “tolerance.” The brain has adapted to having a certain amount of the drug present and doesn’t respond the same way it did initially. The body may become more efficient at metabolizing or breaking down the drug. This reduces the amount of drug in the bloodstream. Or, the cells of the body and the brain can become more resistant to the effect of the drug by causing changes in the activity of the receptors. Tolerance explains why drug abusers and addicts take increasingly higher doses of drugs over time.

Hands up if you want to stop smoking but don’t know where to start. Or more accurately, hands up if you’ve tried to stop smoking without much success.

Nicotine is a highly addictive drug and the cigerette is an extremely effective delivery device. So it’s going to be a real fight and it will take all your willpower to stop. However, there are a number of ways that you can boost your motivation to get rid of this deadly habit. But before we take a look at them, there are three things to bear in mind.

First, you must want to give up. You must be 100% committed or you won’t stand a chance of overcoming this addictive habit.

Second, always bear in mind that it can be done. Millions of people have broken the chain of nicotine addiction and there’s no reason why you can’t become one of them.

And finally, there are several different methods to help you stop smoking, but the same one won’t help everybody. So try the methods below, find your own methods and then stick with the ones that work until you reach your goal. So let’s get started.

1) A Thousand Mile Journey Begins With A Single Step

Now at this stage, some people will tell you that it’s best to cut down gradually. They claim that if you’ve smoked a pack a day for a long time you’ll have developed a physical addiction to nicotine and the best way to lessen the withdrawal symptoms is to cut down gradually over time.

Alternatively, some people claim that cutting out the habit completely is the only way to stop smoking. These people claim that gradual reduction will only make it harder to quit, both physically and psychologically.

But it really doesn’t matter whether you cut down from 40 a day to 20 or stop completely. The most important thing is that you decide to quit smoking and take action.

The route you choose should be the one that you have most confidence in your ability to complete. If you’ve got an all-or-nothing type personality it may be best to stop altogether. But if you can’t even contemplate doing that, start to cut down gradually. Just do something.

Intention without action is a waste of time.

2) Be Aware Of Your Behaviour

Smoking is a psychological habit. Over time you’ve trained yourself to smoke at certain times and in certain situations such as first thing in the morning, last thing at night, after meals, at parties, when you’re stressed etc.

So it’s important to remain consciously aware of your actions at all times. Work out the times when you have a strong subconscious desire to smoke and take steps to avoid lighting up.

And if possible, try to avoid the situations that make you want to reach for a cigarette. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself smoking before you’re even aware of it. Of course if you’ve decided to stop completely, the situation isn’t as dangerous as you can remove all cigarettes from your life. However, it is harder if you decide to cut down gradually, live with someone else who smokes or have easy access to cigarettes.

So make sure you’re aware of what you’re doing at all times. Learn to catch yourself before the desire to smoke grows stronger.

3) Mutual support

Find a friend who wants to stop smoking or get involved with a support group where you’ll find other people who want to kick the habit. This will allow you to support and motivate each other when your willpower shows signs of breaking. It will also make you feel that you’re not alone, making the challenge seem less daunting.

4) Swap The Habit

Try finding a healthier habit to replace your smoking habit. Then, every time you feel the urge to smoke, use your new habit as a way of diverting your attention from the cravings. For example, you could try drinking water, eating a healthy food etc.

5) Relax

Stress is often a trigger factor that makes people reach for their cigarettes. So learn a few relaxation techniques such as deep breathing exercises or yoga. As your ability to relax and fill your lungs improves it will help you to deal with the withdrawal symptoms of nicotine and tobacco. It will also show you the benefits of being able to breathe freely and hopefully encourage you to keep going until the harmful effects of smoking have completely left your system.

6) Replacement

One of the most popular ways to stop smoking is to use nicotine replacement products. There are lots of different products on the market that consist of items such as chewing gum, patches, nasal sprays and lozenges. All of them are designed to manage your nicotine fix, help conquer withdrawal symptoms and ultimately remove your desire to smoke.

Studies have shown that people who use these aids to help them quit are more successful than those who don’t. But before you use these products, please consult your doctor or smoking counselor to consider the health implications of these products.

7) Disgust

Every time you have the urge to light up, think about how disgusting cigarettes are. Remind yourself how unhealthy this disgusting habit is. The idea is to condition yourself so that you associate smoking with thoughts or feelings of disgust. It’s a form of aversion therapy that makes you glad to avoid the mere thought of smoking everytime you develop a subconscious urge to smoke.

Alternatively, you can do the same with pain. Put an elastic band around your wrist, and every time you think about how much you want to smoke, give yourself a ping with the elastic band. Over time this will subconsciously teach your to associate smoking and cigarettes with pain.

All it takes is a conscious decision to quit and the determination to take action. What have you got to lose?

Good luck.

Having gone through alcohol or drug rehabilitation is a major undertaking. Congratulations. Now you might be wondering several things. Where do I go from here? What do I do with my new life? What are the best strategies for staying clean and sober? The information in this article answers all of these important questions. It comes mostly from the experts: people, like you, who were once in a treatment center and have been in recovery for many years. Additional information has also been contributed from professionals that have helped recovering alcoholics/addicts after the alcohol or drug rehabilitation process.

Taking Action—The Process

* Create a plan for after you leave. Work with your therapist, counselor or the treatment center you attended to assist you in developing an after care treatment plan. These are designed to give you a strategy for staying clean. It’s a plan that will keep you on track in the recovery process. Lay person and professional experts in recovery know that an outlined plan detailing the things you can do to stay sober is valuable. Here are some of the most common, and maybe not so common, steps/actions/objectives that can be part of your plan towards a goal of staying healthy, sober and free from addiction.

* Continue with therapy. Follow up sessions with a trusted counselor or professional helps to address those issues or problems that are new for you. Life after addiction comes with new or confusing situations you will be faced with. For example, there was a man that after having been in a drug induced state for years did not know how to order his eggs at a restaurant. He would say, “I just let them throw the eggs on the plate, anything to get some food in my belly. I never paid attention to or cared how they were cooked”. When you are confronted with something you don’t know how to handle, frustration and desire to turn to what you know best (getting high) may become overwhelming. There is no problem too small or large that a trained professional can’t help you with. It’s better to seek their advice and look for solutions than to return to abusing drugs or alcohol.

* Keep your body healthy. This part of the after care plan should involve listing ways you can keep your body functioning at optimum levels. Some steps may include:

* Nutrition and eating right are essential. There have been studies recently showing that the right intake of calories, vitamins and nutrients, staves off the craving for drugs and alcohol. When your body feels good, the chances are you can better fight the cravings for addictive substances.

* Drink lots of water. Water hydrates the body and maintains your body temperature. Proper hydration allows for smoother waste elimination, and keeps the body emotionally balanced. Experts that work in the crisis industry (rape crisis centers, nurses in emergency or triage, etc.) have long known the power of water in regulating a person’s mood. It has a calming effect. An added bonus among many, water keeps your skin from drying out too.

* Exercise. Find an exercise routine and stick with it. If you like the gym or workout centers get a membership Take evening walks in your neighborhood after dinner. Use stairs wherever you go instead of elevators. Remember to find exercises that will bring your heart rate up (aerobic) and those that include warm-up, stretching and free-weights.

* Keep your teeth clean. One of the first things to not only put on your plan but to arrange is a dental exam. Drug use and alcohol abuse damage teeth and gums severely over time. Studies have shown that excessive plaque and tartar on the teeth carries through to our blood stream and creates a plaque build up in the arteries. This means potential heart problems and cardiovascular disease. Also, clean teeth means you will smile more and that alone will better your social life.

* Make social activities part of your plan. When you’re developing your after care plan, be sure to include activities that make you happy. Socializing will decrease depression and keep you from feeling isolated. On this note, make sure to not include former drinkers or drug using “buddies”. Chances are very high that if you begin associating with your former partying partners (that are still using) you will quickly begin abusing the substance again. Find people that have been in recovery for a long time or others that have never had a substance abuse problem. Seek new friends, return to favorite hobbies, whatever it takes to get you out and busy.

* Find your spiritual path. Whatever spirituality means to you, discover or re-discover what it is that gives you strength through the hard times. Returning to a spiritual place that made you feel connected, worthy or special will help.

* Find the creativity within. Do you draw, paint, dance or read? Bring the creative you back to life. Creativity gives a sense of self-worth and accomplishment. This is important for anyone recovering from an addiction. By the way, start your creative processes with your treatment plan. Give thought to the social activities you like. Outline some ideas to eat foods that will not only nourish you but make you feel good, alive and energetic. There are many healthy foods that can give this feeling. Bring your creativity to your plan and make it uniquely yours.

When preparing your after care plan, make sure it’s what you want. There is nothing worse than having a plan that fits someone else’s needs or expectations. Often in alcohol or drug treatment and detox centers we hear quite a bit about what we should do. Our days are planned with activities, counseling, meal times and social events. We become accustomed to what others think we should do to remain sober. Family and friends offer advice, your counselor or therapist may suggest items for your plan but in the end, the treatment plan belongs to you. It needs to be tailored with the purpose of achieving your goal. Your goal is to remain sober and clean. If the plan is one you want and can live with, the chances are you will respect it, follow through with the steps/objectives and stay sober for many years to come.

Smokers may have their own individual reasons to want to quit smoking because they may be affected by the harmful effects of smoking or may want to live longer or maybe doing so on their doctors recommendations. Cigarettes be they light, lower-tar or regular have more than four thousand chemicals of which at least forty may cause the smoker to contract cancer. The nicotine in the cigarette is the reason why people crave the next light.

Adverse Affects Of Smoking Should Be Reason Enough To Stop Smoking

Smoking impacts the smoker’s health in adverse ways and could cause many harmful effects such as wrinkling of the skin, unattractive tobacco-stained hands, yellowish, brownish tobacco stained teeth as well as possible impotence and also be at greater risk of suffering from diabetes. The case for quitting smoking is strong and using stop smoking aids does a viable option that a serious smoker should consider when want to quit this unhealthy practice.

The first thing that a person who tries to quit smoking will notice is withdrawal symptoms. By getting to soothe such withdrawal symptoms and controlling the physical desire for nicotine, the smoker will regain the power of focusing on emotions and habits that are healthy when he or she is successful in giving up the habit.
The smoker can make use of many stop smoking aids including patches that offer a continuous nicotine dose that helps sustain the smoker during withdrawal symptoms, and also calms the physical craving that is experienced when one quits smoking. Taking a single stop smoking aid such as a patch every day will offer protection from nicotine craving which will help the brain become used to existing with less nicotine, and one may then gradually reduce the strength of patches to get rid of the dependence completely.

Other stop smoking aids include nicotine gum, lozenges, nasal sprays as well as inhalers that allow the smoker to actively control their nicotine dosage. However, one should not raise ones expectations too high and instead be realistic about assessing whether a particular stop smoking aid is right or not in their particular instance.

Being sensible and not falling for wild claims about the benefits of various stop smoking aids is advisable, especially as there are no magic or wonder cures available. Stop smoking aids are helpful in assisting the smoker and cannot do more and should be taken with a strong desire to quit smoking. It is also necessary to persevere and not give up even if one does not succeed at first. Evaluating ones needs and keeping up a sustained effort to quit smoking with the help of stop smoking aids should eventually get the desired results.

Employers in the last decade found it hard to rely on drug testing to ensure that they are hiring employees that are free from banned substances. However, the adoption of more stringent rules and restrictions at drug test sites and laboratories have made it harder for drug users to cheat. The variation of drug testing programs also allow choices and more certainty about the test results.

Urinalysis has been the most common and often used drug testing method. However, this is also the easiest to trick and cheat. Diluting urines with water or other colorless fluid is enough to make the drug traces virtually undetectable. To reinforce security on this kind of testing, most companies and drug testing laboratories prefer on-site specimen collection. A drug test technician either visits the site to collect and test samples from workers or candidates for testing visit the laboratories where their urines are collected and tested immediately. Candidates are not allowed to leave the testing room until the test is finished. This ensures that the urine samples collected are not tampered or diluted. However, on-site collection is awkward especially for women because the candidates are actually supervised while collecting their samples. The testing of oral fluid or saliva is also implemented but not popular. Though oral fluid can be collected easily and are not susceptible to alteration, results based on this test are still suspicious. This is because drug traces in saliva can be undetectable after a day. Hence, if a user stops taking drugs a day or two before the test, he may be given a negative mark and pass the test.

Newer technology in drug tests now allow for hair testing. In the present, this is regarded as the most foolproof drug test. Drug residue from drug use, whether ingested or injected, remains inside the hair cuticle. Even if the user bleached, colored, or cut his hair, the residue would still be present and can be detected. This is also very popular since the collection of samples is not difficult and possible without embarrassing the tester and the candidate. Candidates do not need to worry about ruined hairstyles since the snips are done in inconspicuous places and are not noticeable. The latter kind of drug testing are also more cost-efficient for employers. Though the fees for the test is pricier than urinalysis, the company saves more because hair testing can effectively weed out drug abusers from the company’s ranks. This is because a drug-dependent employee cost a company as much as $10,000 in terms of unproductivity, absences, and benefits. They are usually the perpetrators of office theft. Plus, the employees would be deterred from using drugs because they know that is cheat-proof. All in all, investing in drug and hair testing are worthy expenses for the employer.

When looking at drug use, drug abuse, drug dependency and drug addiction, one finds that there are many divergent opinions about these terms and how they identify the drug-using behaviors of the public. Dr. Alan Leshner, the Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse for the U.S. Government, states: “There is a unique disconnect between scientific facts and the public’s perception of drug addiction,”

From a lecture in March, 1998 at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Leshner explained how brain function is modified by drug use and how that change persists after an individual stops taking drugs. Addiction also has to be recognized as a result of many bio-behavioral factors.

Dr. Leshner said a user does not have control over the change when voluntary drug use becomes a compulsive addiction. He likens the change to a flip of a switch, although the change may be a result of opponent processes where changes have accumulated over time. Regardless, Dr. Leshner believes it is important that people understand that once addicted, a person is literally in a different brain state.

Anyone that has known and witnessed the changes in behavior and ethics in a person caught in the thralls of addiction can see the declining spiral of personal care and ethics, work ethics, emotional stability and generally, a feeling that one hardly recognizes the addicted person as being the same individual as they were before the drug use.

One very important point to know is that any drug use may set off these destructive behaviors in an individual and that using drugs “recreationally” is playing Russian Roulette with one’s life. The effects of these “poisons” on the brain and nervous system are always destructive, but the timeline of when the effects will be obvious varies from immediately to, sometimes, after years of “casual” use.

The scientist’s say that one of the tasks of treatment is to revert the brain to its original state or repairing the damage that these poisons can do. Some scientist believe that this can be done by introducing other drugs, then called medicines, into the delicate brain chemistry of someone suffering from drug addiction. That is what National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) is doing now as it begins to design new medications. “We have molecular targets,” Dr. Leshner said.” We don’t need serendipity.” Serendipity is defined as “a natural gift for making useful discoveries by accident.”

However, don’t be fooled by the scientist since they have yet to discover any medications that restore a person to full and, more importantly, enthusiastic living. These “medicines” are always a tradeoff in giving up some of the beauties of life to keep the addict from using a more destructive drug. For a total cure, one should pursue getting the original poisons out of the body and letting the body’s natural repair mechanism restore the person to his original, functional and loving self.