Smoking Cessation, Methods and Replacement Medications

Introduction

The process of discounting smoking is termed smoking cessation. Different methods can be employed to achieve this as would be discussed below.
Tobacco smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals; hundreds are toxic, and about 70 can cause cancer. Nicotine is the psychoactive drug in tobacco products that produces dependence.
Cessation can significantly reduce the risk of smoking-related diseases: lung cancer, coronary heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, COPD, infertility in women.
Quitting smoking is difficult and may require multiple attempts. Users often relapse because of stress, weight gain, and withdrawal symptoms: irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and increased appetite.

Smoking Cessation Methods

1. Brief clinical interventions (i.e., when a doctor takes 10 minutes or less to deliver advice and assistance about quitting)
2. Counseling (e.g., individual, group, or telephone counseling and quitlines; online smoking cessation programs)
3. Behavioural cessation therapies (e.g., training in problem solving)
4. Treatments with more person-to-person contact and intensity (e.g., more time with counselors)

Cessation Replacement Medications

1. Over-the-counter (e.g., nicotine patch, gum, lozenge)
2. Prescription nicotine medications (e.g., nicotine inhaler, nasal spray)
3. Prescription non-nicotine medications, such as bupropion SR and varenicline tartrate

The combination of medication and counseling is more effective for smoking cessation than either medication or counseling alone.