Most of you will already know that the e cigarette is a fantastic device for those people who aren’t quite ready to quit nicotine but still want to stop the inhalation of carbon monoxide, tar, and many of the other nasty chemicals which are contained in tobacco smoke. At the end of the day though your aim should always be to get off nicotine altogether, and since the electronic cigarette hasn’t been scientifically approved as the device to help you do this, you might want to take a look at the other options which are available.

Quitting smoking is never easy, but there are products available that can help increase your chances of successfully giving up cigarette smoking for good. Most of these stop smoking aids work by reducing the severity of withdrawal symptoms, and some also block the effects of nicotine on the brain. Regardless of which quit smoking aids you use, the most important indicator of whether you will be successful at quitting smoking is your level of commitment and determination. Here are some of the quit smoking products available that might help you kick the habit once and for all.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Nicotine replacement products provide your body with a dose of nicotine without all of the other harmful chemicals that are contained in cigarettes and other tobacco products. This makes them safer than tobacco from a health standpoint. However, nicotine is still addictive on its own, so it is possible to become addicted to the nicotine replacement therapy products while trying to give up smoking.

Research has shown that people using nicotine replacement products as stop smoking aids have roughly twice the success rate of those who try to quit smoking cold turkey. The most popular of these products are nicotine gum and the stop smoking patch. You can also get nicotine replacement therapy in an inhaler, nasal spray, or lozenges.

Using nicotine replacement products allows you to gradually reduce the amount of nicotine your body is receiving, which helps lessen the symptoms of withdrawal. However, these products do not magically make it easy to stop smoking. The number one factor that determines whether you will succeed at quitting is still your determination to do so. You must really want to quit smoking, or the cigarettes will win every time.

Prescription Medications

There are two prescription medications that are commonly prescribed as stop smoking aids: Zyban and Chantix. Taking a stop smoking pill is just part of a stop smoking program that is overseen by your doctor. For best results, the prescription medication will be combined with counseling to help improve your chances of success.

Zyban (bupropion) is also sold under the name Wellbutrin. This drug was not developed as a stop smoking aid. It is actually an antidepressant. Since it was discovered that the drug also helps reduce the symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine, this drug has been prescribed to many smokers to help with these symptoms while they are attempting to quit.

Chantix (varenicline tartrate), on the other hand, was developed specifically for the purpose of combating nicotine withdrawal symptoms in people who are trying to quit. This drug blocks the feel-good receptors in the brain that make smoking pleasurable as well as stimulating the brain to produce a small amount of dopamine to keep withdrawal symptoms at bay. A recent research study resulted in a 44% success rate among participants after 12 weeks and 23% after one year. The participants of the study received counseling as well as taking Chantix.

Herbal Remedies

There are herbal remedies for just about anything, and quitting smoking is no different. The three herbs most commonly recommended to help people stop smoking are lobelia, St. Johns wort, and ginseng. Lobelia is believed to increase the amount of dopamine in the brain, which in theory can help with withdrawal symptoms. However, this herb is potentially toxic and there is no evidence to prove its effectiveness.

St. Johns wort is used most often as a treatment for depression, but it may have some usefulness as a stop smoking aid as well. There have been two studies which seemed to indicate that St. Johns wort might help people stop smoking, but the studies were small and there was no control group used in either study. More research is needed to prove or disprove the effectiveness of this herb for helping people quit smoking.

Ginseng keeps the brain from releasing dopamine, which might help smokers quit by inhibiting the good feelings that are normally associated with smoking cigarettes. However, there is insufficient research to back up this theory.

No matter which stop smoking aid you use to quit smoking, it ultimately comes down to how badly you want to quit. If you are determined that you will never smoke another cigarette no matter how tough it is, then you are much more likely to be successful. It is important to develop the right mindset before you try to quit.

Why choose an smokeless E Cigarette over your traditional burning tobacco products?

1. Cost - Of course the cost of your smoking habit will vary depending on where in the world you currently live but in most countries you will be able to save a large amount of cash over a year if you make the switch over to the electronic cigarette. If you are currently paying $7 per packet and smoking a couple of packs a day then your nicotine addiction adds up to over $5000 per year. Some manufacturers claim that you can save about 75% of these costs is you make the switch, although I think that’s being a little optimistic. Its certainly not unreasonable to believe that you can save about half what you currently spend on tobacco if you decide to give smokeless cigarettes a go.

It is true that the cost can seem prohibitive when you consider the price of an e cigarette starter kit. Many of the higher quality ones such as the Green Smoke are not cheap, but after the initial purchase you will find that the replacement nicotine cartridges are much cheaper than you would pay for tobacco so the savings quickly add up.

When you are considering purchasing a starter kit think about how much you spend on tobacco in a month rather than the cost of just a single packet. Do that and you will realize they are not as expensive as you initially thought.

Another thing is that you can opt for a more affordable smokeless cigarette the first time you purchase if you are not sure if this product is going to be right for you, although companies such as green smoke and blu cigs allow you to return your device within 30 days if you are not satisfied with the way it performs.

And its not just you that will be very happy with the results of switching over to the electronic cigarette, your parter will truly appreciate the fact that you no longer smell like a walking ashtray.

To give you an idea about some of the flavors that are available the Green Smoke collection includes Chocolate, Coffee, Menthol, Tobacco, Vanilla, Apple, Strawberry. If you need access to an increasing number of options to keep things interesting then there are companies such as Johnson Creek Original Smoke Juice offer a wider range of very high quality products.

3. Its a Cleaner Way To Smoke – Imagine being able to get that nicotine hit you crave without exposing your body to tar, carbon monoxide and all those nasty by-products that come along with burning tobacco. E Cigarettes deliver nicotine in a cleaner manner to the benefit to you, and to all those around you when you use it. That means no more smell on your clothes or in your house, and it also means that you can forget about yellowing of the teeth and smoker’s breath. Imagine being able to smoke indoors without your friends and relatives constantly complaining about the thick fog of tobacco smoke that you are constantly exhaling, that’s why its called a smokeless cigarette.

4. It gives you the same enjoyment as you get from smoking – The problem with regular nicotine replacement therapy such as gum, patches and inhalers is that they give you very little satisfaction when you use them. The e cigarette changes all that by very closely replicating the feeling you get when you smoke what you are used to. Its for these reason especially that more smokers are discovering just how effective smokeless cigarettes can be in acting as a long term tobacco replacement.

The problem is that extensive research has yet to be carried out on the safety of E Cigarettes so its difficult to say for sure whether its as safe as other NRTs. What we can do is look at the ingredients in the nicotine cartridge we are using and make an informed decision about whether or not we want to take a risk with an unknown product. Its should be obvious to anyone that inhaling a nicotine vapor which contains Propylene glycol and a few flavors is going to be preferable to inhaling a burning tobacco product with its many thousand carcinogenic substances.

If you are looking to substitute cigarettes with something less harmful and find it difficult to do so due to the fact that you miss the social aspects and the habitual nature of cigarettes then using an electronic cigarette is a perfect companion. It might not be the healthiest way to give up but it has to be less harmful than continuing to inhale smoke.

The World Health Organization has a duty to the pharmaceutical industry to promote “authorized” nicotine replacement therapies due to the fact that 70% of the funding for the WTO’s Tobacco Free Initiative program come from the companies who produce them. The reason we can’t get decent information from studies about the safety of E Cigarettes is due to the cost involved in carrying out studies. Unfortunately the only people with the cash to undertake the studies would be the pharmaceutical companies themselves. When they get round to doing so you can be sure that they will be found to be safe and they will quickly be marketing their own branded examples.