I have been smoking 2-3 packs a day for 18 years now and I’m 29 years old. I was just diagnosed with COPD and I finally decided to stop smoking. My doctor put me on the patch and the stop smoking pills both. My question is this:  I read all the instructions and it said that it’s very easy to get nicotine overdose and not to smoke while taking the patch or the pills but I can’t just go from smoking 2-3 packs a day to nothing. So I’m wearing the patch taking the pills and smoking about 1 and a half packs a day now. What are my chances of developing nicotine overdose and how quickly will I start getting the symptoms? Thanks for your help.

Before you start having heart arrhythmias, please stop the smoking! If you’re taking the pills, the patch, and still smoking, then you’re making the situation worse.

The pills are to help diminish your desire to smoke, but they only work if you actually are prepared to not smoke anymore. Since you’re still smoking, the pills are useless: they help diminish your psychological addiction.

The patch helps to diminish your physical dependence on nicotine.

By continuing to smoke, you’re obliterating the use of both modalities; you’re not ready to stop.   I strongly suggest talking to your doctor before continuing this course of treatment!

This question is, of course, answered best on an individual basis and by one’s doctor.  There are several different stop smoking pills out there now that can be helpful when trying to kick the habit.   One is of course Chantix, then there is bupropion (Welbutrin or Zyban).  Depending on your general health and other circumstances, your physician will be best able to help you decide which one is best for you.

Here’s some numbers on the psychiatric side effects of the stop smoking pill Chantix:

Insomnia (19%), abnormal dreams (9% to 13%), sleep disorder (2%), and nightmare (2%).  Also included are anxiety, depression, emotional disorder, irritability, restlessness, aggression, agitation, disorientation, dissociation, decreased libido, mood swings, abnormal thinking, bradyphrenia, euphoric mood, hallucination, psychotic disorder, suicidal ideation, and erratic behavior. Depressed mood, agitation, changes in behavior, and suicide have been reported during postmarketing experience.

The worst side effects are generally observed in people that already have some form of mental disturbance in their medical history.

You don’t have to take a stop smoking pill to kick the habit.  I was looking up information on homeopathic ways to quit and found some interesting information out.

To reduce the craving while discontinuing its use, try Tabacum 30, 4 hourly

If you’re still addicted to tobacco but cannot bear the odor of it, try:  Lobelia In Q(Mother Tincture) 4 hourly, 5 -10 drops

If you have a great desire to smoke but are developing symptoms such as asthma, try  Caladium S 30, 4 hourly

To produce disgust in tobacco for habitual tobacco chewers, try Plantago Major 30, 4 hourly

Take the remedy which is similar to your symptoms.  You’ll experience no side effects or complications if taken as directed, but they really advice against exceeding the given dosage and under any circumstances.  Also, do not try to mix any remedies with each other or Chocolates, Mints, Coffee, Red Meat, Alcoholic and Carbonated drinks,  or Spicy, Rich Foods.  Also, keep any Homeopathic medicines away from direct sunlight or heat.

I’m 16.  I’ve been taking my birth control pills since the beginning of May & I’ve stopped taking them in the beginning of June.  How long do I have to stop taking the pills to smoke (ciggs) without them having an effect on my health?

If I get back on birth control in July will it have any effect on me?

I’m glad to hear that you quit smoking!  Now, DON’T START AGAIN!  Cigarettes do effect your health, with or without birth control.  Taking them in conjunction increases your risk of having a stroke, but smoking alone increases your risk of cancer and heart disease, among many other things.  I hope you can kick off the start of your young life properly.  Good luck!

Although 85 – 90% of smokers quit using the cold turkey method, gradual reduction has been shown to be very effect.  It involves slowly reducing one’s daily intake of nicotine. This can be done in two ways: by repeated changes to cigarettes with lower levels of nicotine, or by gradually reducing the number of cigarettes smoked each day. As of 2010, and unlike earlier studies who claimed some benefit for gradual reduction, a Cochrane review found that abrupt cessation and gradual reduction with pre-quit NRT produced similar quit rates.

So the method you choose to quit really depends on your personal style.  Your personal physician could probably tell you what would work best for you.  Also, remember to avoid other smokers, and even try the patch or a stop smoking pill if you feel you need extra motivation.

When you’re using a stop smoking pill or patch, you begin at step one and then after 6 weeks go to step 2  weeks.  This means less nicotine for 2 weeks.  Then move onto step 3, which is even less for another 2 weeks.  You essentially wean yourself of the medication, but it’s way better than smoking, as nicotine isn’t what’s bad for you; it’s the tar and all of the other chemicals in the cigarettes.

Even if you’re taking a stop smoking pill like Chanitx, remember that the success rate isn’t perfect!  In fact, for Chantix it rests at 40%.  Sometimes it takes a couple of times, but determination and forming new habits are really what’s most important.  If you can’t change your lifestyle, you’re probably going to keep having issues.  When you decide you’re ready to quit, keep that in mind; do your best to surround yourself with healthy things and non-smokers.  Those ideas might help more than any pill.

Below are a list of cigarette substitutions that might help you quit.  If you think you need something more than a quit smoking pill, one of these might be helpful

• Vaporizer: heats to 410 °F (210 °C) or less, compared with 1,500 °F (820 °C) in the tip of a cigarette when drawn upon; eliminates carbon monoxide and other combustion toxins.
• Electronic cigarette: Shaped like a cigar or cigarette, this device contains a rechargeable battery and a heating element that vaporizes liquid nicotine (and other flavorings) from an insertable cartridge, at lower initial cost than a vaporizer but with the same advantages including significantly reducing tar and carbon monoxide. However, in September 2008, the World Health Organization issued a release proclaiming that it does not consider the electronic cigarette to be a legitimate smoking cessation aid, stating that to its knowledge, “no rigorous, peer-reviewed studies have been conducted showing that the electronic cigarette is a safe and effective nicotine replacement therapy.”
• Smokeless tobacco: There is little smoking in Sweden, which is reflected in the low cancer rates for Swedish men. It is claimed that Swedish men are more likely to use snus (a form of steam-cured, rather than heat-cured, smokeless tobacco) than to smoke.  There is a scientific debate over claims that spit tobacco might reduce the exposure of smokers to carcinogens or the risk for cancer (and even be used as a way to stop smoking). Some oral and spit tobaccos increase the risk for leukoplakia a precursor to oral cancer.
• Smoking herb substitutions (non-tobacco).

If you’ve tried cold turkey, if you’ve tried the patches and the gum and the suckers and the online support groups, AND you’ve really decided that you want to be a non-smoker, maybe it’s time to talk to your doctor and try a stop smoking pill.  There are actually several different ones on the market now, that each work in different ways.  Your doctor, who is familiar with your lifestyle and health already, will be able to suggest one to you.  If you have the drive already, you might just need that last little push into becoming a non-smoker!