Smoking-cessation Drugs are medicines that are used to help people stop
smoking cigarettes or using other forms of tobacco.
Why are smoking cessation drugs used?
People who smoke cigarettes
find it very difficult to give up smoking. This is because they pick up this
habit of smoking while doing some tasks like having a cup of coffee or
reading the newspaper or in while in stress that it becomes very difficult
to break the habit as tobacco contains Nicotine. When we talk about
nicotine, it is basically a drug that some people find as addictive as
Cocaine or Heroin.
Many who try to give up smoking or stop smoking face withdrawal symptoms
like as follows:
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Lack of concentration
- Lack of sleep
- Craving for tobacco etc.
Some people can stop smoking through willpower alone, but this is
usually very rare. That is why physicians recommend a formal stop-smoking
program with support from friends and family. Heavy tobacco users may find
that the smoking-cessation drugs help by easing their withdrawal symptoms.
The reason behind this is that these drugs contain nicotine but in small,
steady doses spread out over many hours. On the otherhand, when person
smokes a cigarette, Nicotine enters the lungs and then travels to the brain
within seconds, delivering the "rush", the "feel" that
smokers come to crave. Moreover, these drugs do not contain the tar and
carbon monoxide that make cigarettes so harmful to people's health.
Popular Smoking Cessation Drugs
Smoking Cessation Drugs are also
referred as Nicotine Substitution products or Nicotine Replacement therapy.
They are available in the form of chewing gum, skin patch, nasal spray, and
inhaler. These are available only with a prescription. But there are
non-prescription smoking cessation drug or OTC drugs. People who OTC
products should check with a pharmacist before starting to use them. Some
commonly used brands of Smoking Cessation products are
- Nicoderm
- Nicotrol
- Habitrol
- ProStep
- Nicorette
- Bupropion (Zyban)
The last one contains no Nicotine. All others contain Nicotine.