Medicines to Help You Stop Smoking

When you quit smoking, you may feel strange at first. You may feel dull, tense, and not yourself. These are signs that your body is getting used to life without nicotine. It usually only lasts a few weeks.

Many people just can't handle how they feel after they quit. They start smoking again to feel better. Maybe this has happened to you. Most people slip up in the first week after quitting. This is when feelings of withdrawal are strongest.

There are medicines that can help with feelings of withdrawal:

• Bupropion SR pills
• Nicotine gum
• Nicotine inhaler
• Nicotine lozenge
• Nicotine nasal spray
• Nicotine patch

Using these medicines can double your chances of quitting for good. Ask your doctor for advice. But remember: Medicine alone can't do all the work. It can help with cravings and withdrawal, but quitting will still be hard at times.

Here is more information about the different medicines.

Nicotine Gum, Patch, Inhaler, Spray, and Lozenge (NRT)

Nicotine gum, patches, inhalers, sprays, and lozenges are called nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). That's because they take the place of nicotine from cigarettes. NRT can help with withdrawal and lessen your urge to smoke.

You need a prescription to buy the inhaler and nasal spray. But you can buy nicotine gum, nicotine patches, and nicotine lozenges on your own.

Other Medicines

Bupropion SR is a medicine that has no nicotine. You need a prescription to get these pills. They seem to help with withdrawal and lessen the urge to smoke.

Some people have side effects when using bupropion SR pills. The side effects include dry mouth and not being able to sleep.

This medicine isn't right for:

• Pregnant women
• People who have seizures
• People with eating disorders
• Heavy drinkers

Ask your doctor, dentist, or pharmacist if this medicine is right for you. Make sure to use it the right way if your doctor prescribes it.

Thinking About Using NRT?

• Ask your doctor, dentist, or pharmacist if nicotine gum, the patch, or some other kind of NRT is right for you. These medicines can cause side effects in some people. Some people should not use NRT without a doctor's help. Pregnant women are a good example.
• Be patient. Using NRT correctly can take some getting used to. Follow the instructions and give it some time.
• Don't mix tobacco and NRT. Having one or two cigarettes while you use the gum, patch, nasal spray, inhaler, or lozenge is not dangerous, but your goal is to quit smoking for good. Use NRT only when you are ready to stop smoking. If you do slip up and smoke a cigarette or two, don't give up on NRT. Keep trying.
• Start out using enough medicine. Use the full amount of NRT in the instructions. Don't skip or forget to use your NRT after you first stop smoking.
• Slowly use less and less medicine. But don't stop completely until you're ready. You can set up a schedule with your doctor or pharmacist.
• Keep some of the medicine with you after you stop using it. This way you'll be ready for an emergency.
• Wait a half hour after using the gum, lozenge, or inhaler before you eat or drink anything acidic. Acidic foods and drinks can keep nicotine gums and inhalers from working. Acidic foods and drinks include tomato sauce, tomatoes, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, coffee, soda, orange juice, and grapefruit juice.

Bottom line: Read the instructions that come with the medicine. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions.

WebMD Public Information from the National Cancer Institute

A NOTE TO NONSMOKERS

If you live with a smoker, or are close friends with one: don't be a NAG about their smoking habit! (You can make noise about their smoking in the house or near you, because their second hand smoke hurts you – but don't nag them to quit. There's a BIG difference!)

Just three times a year you can ask your loved one – briefly – VERY briefly – to please quit smoking -- in VERY loving and warm tones. (Try surrounding your request with HONEST complements, keep it BRIEF, and they might be more open to hearing you.

But if you speak up more than three times per YEAR, then you're a yukky, obnoxious NAG. Ick! And your beloved smoker will be so ANGRY with you that they'll keep smoking just to spite you. You'll be defeating your very purpose.

I ask nonsmokers to honor their smoking loved ones, and treat them like adults.

And if your loved ones are nagging you, don't fall into the old trap of hurting yourself by continuing to smoke out of your anger toward them. Instead, let them know how you feel.

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Smoking and Teens: Time to Quit

SAY GOODBYE TO AN UGLY HABIT – QUIT SMOKING!

It’s probably not news to you that smoking is bad for your body. It causes wrinkles and turns your teeth yellow, and puts you at risk for diseases. Here’s a newsflash for you ladies, though. Smoke hates you more than it hates guys!

• It is harder for females to quit than it is for males.
• Smoke can be more harmful to female lungs than male lungs.
• The younger you start, the harder it is to quit!
• This means that starting to smoke as a female teen is asking for trouble. So, quit smoking or don’t start for YOU…for your health and beauty, today and in the future.
• Smoking ads may try to make smoking look cool, but you’re smarter than that. The tobacco companies are not looking out for you, so you have to look out for yourself. Don’t smoke. If you smoke, quit – either way you win by not giving them your money!

What smoking does to your body

Soon after you start, smoking causes yellow teeth and bad breath (gross!), as well as health problems such as shortness of breath, coughing, upset stomach, and dizziness. When you are older, you can get major health problems from smoking, like cancer and heart disease. Smoking will also make your skin wrinkle.

What quitting can do for your health

• 12 hours after quitting, the dangerous carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
• 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting, your heart and lungs begin to work better.
• 1 to 9 months after quitting, coughing, fatigue, and shortness of breath start to go away.
• 1 year after quitting, your risk of heart disease goes down.

Why do people smoke?

Stress. Smoking leads to more stress. Learn how to manage stress with tips from www.GirlsHealth.gov.

Habit. If you feel like you can’t stop smoking, ask a doctor or nurse for help

Boredom. Smoking to fill time? Find other things that you like to do instead, like jog, read, or shop.

Others smoke. Stay strong and tell your friends and family they should quit, too.

Can’t quit. Don’t think you’ll be able to quit? Start thinking positive – yes, you can!

Weight control. Quitting doesn’t add pounds, eating more does. Exercise and eat healthy to keep from gaining.

How to quit

Sick of spending money on cigarettes, smelling like an ashtray, and your friends hassling you about smoking? Then you are ready to quit!

1) Set a quit date and tell everybody when you are going to stop
2) Throw away all your cigarettes, lighters, and ashtrays.
3) When you get the urge to smoke, do something else…take deep breaths or drink a glass of water.
4) Carry things with you to put in your mouth, such as gum or hard candy.
5) Stay busy by going to the movies, riding your bike, walking the dog, or hanging out with a friend.
6) Spend time in places where you are not allowed to smoke, such as the movies or the mall.
7) The first few days after quitting, don’t hang with smokers or in places you used to smoke.
8) Drink lots of water and fruit juice…stay away from drinks with caffeine, like soda, coffee or tea.

Be prepared! You may be crabby and feel on edge for a couple of weeks or longer, but then your body will
forget nicotine and you will feel better. Once you feel better, you may still want to smoke at times, but stay
strong…it’s easy to get hooked again and you don’t want to throw away all that hard work.

WebMD Public Information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services