The Australian Government’s Department of Health reports that there has been a 10% decrease in smokers across the country since 1995. It is great news; however, the problem of nicotine addiction is far from over.

According to reports, nearly 40% of smokers self-medicate and try to quit smoking at least once every year. A small percentage of these people get rid of their smoking habits successfully after going cold turkey. However, one in every two quitters relapse after 12 months of abstinence.

Health services like Smokefree Clinic’s smoking alternatives help you recover from your smoking habits by allowing you to form healthier habits and associate these behavioural patterns with a similar feeling of satisfaction.

Understanding Why Relapses Happen

Most people who try to get rid of their smoking habits fail because they are addicted to the active substance in cigarettes and tobacco. Nicotine, the yellowish liquid from cigarettes, causes an autonomic nerve stimulation, affecting the brain’s reward pathways.

Once smoking byproducts are inhaled, the brain releases dopamine, which influences mood and feelings of satisfaction. Constant smoking habits lead to addiction because the brain creates nicotine receptors, which tell your body to consume nicotine in larger doses.

Relapse rates for people with smoking dependencies remain high at 60 to 90% within the first year for several reasons. Such factors include underlying mental health conditions, peer pressure, isolation, and relationship problems.

Smoking Alternatives that Help You Beat Your Nicotine Addiction

Going cold turkey often worsens your addiction because it does not properly address the underlying problems that perpetuate it. Most addictions happen as an offshoot of a mental or physical condition that needs to be diagnosed and addressed.

Your diagnosis would come with an alternative therapy that is both impactful and behaviour-changing. Facilities such as Smokefree Clinic’s smoking alternatives provide a safe cushion so you can safely cross the threshold of recovery.

Some of the smoking alternatives that help you during your recovery phase include:

• Nicotine Replacement Therapy
• Combination therapy
• Pharmacotherapy
• Counselling and Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Using these healing alternatives in combination with the detoxification process creates a powerful effect on your body and mind. Studies have indicated that the success rate of quitting on your own is only 7%, while it is tremendously higher with the right aid and support.

Understanding the Efficacy of Smoking Alternatives During Recovery

Most people with nicotine addiction form the habit of gradually increasing their substance intake because of underlying conditions. For example, people with depressive states suffer anxiety or PTSD, or even those with relationship problems try to mend their mental and emotional states by consuming substances that make them feel temporarily secure.

It is true that nicotine has a powerful effect on your brain’s dopamine production. When the effects of nicotine wear out, a person will find himself consuming the substance more and more to redress the underlying problems.

For instance, Cognitive Behavior Therapy or talk therapy has a powerful effect on smoking recovery because it includes modifying behaviours that influence the addiction. In addition, nicotine replacement therapy or iNRT supports the withdrawal phase by gradually decreasing your body’s toxin reserve without it undergoing severe effects.

Smoking alternatives are the gold standard of nicotine addiction treatment because it addresses the symptoms of the addiction and the underlying conditions that perpetuate dependence.