Why This Blog?

I am a doctor from India. I started smoking from very young age and smoked for long 30 years! Knowing every ill effects of smoking I was unable to quit. Then one day while checking my BP. I found it abnormally high! I initially didn't trust the instrument and checked with 3 or 4 instruments repeatedly and the results were same. Next day I did my blood tests for lipid profile and they all were deranged. Now , that was the time, I was bound to quit but how???? The blog will tell my story. Hoping this blog will help many smokers to understand their smoking habit and will help them to quit or, shift for the better.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

This is an established method of quitting smoking. There are several accepted methods . Nicotine gum and patches are available in India. I thought of gum. It is not that I have not tasted the nicotine gum earlier. I enjoyed them along with my cigarettes. More kick! But this time I was serious. I read the manual came along with. The gum is available in two strengths 2mg and 4 mg. The dose is dependent on how much you are smoking presently and you nicotine requirement. I used to smoke about 20 cigarettes a day means about one cigarette every half an hour or so.
The first thing I did , I tried to find out How much smoking is absolutely essential for me. I found I cannot leave the morning smoke in toilet, smokes after major meals and before bed. That means about 5 cigarettes.
I bought some 2mg nicotine gum and continued with the 5 cigarettes per day and rest of the day I continued with the gum. What I found, I didn't felt the urge of smoking for at least half an hour after the I had the gum. I was so happy, except I had to fight with my habit of lighting up cigarette each time but I succeeded by not doing so,  Within next week I replaced those 5 cigarettes with 2 mg gum. Believe me I succeeded again. I didn't smoke a single cigarette till then. I am writing it after  2 years!
Though I could not taper off the nicotine gum as suggested but I have quitted  smoking the nasty cigarettes!

A small tip is: Try this when you are away from your normal routine. Preferably when you are on your holidays for at least 7 days. Any pressure from work or, family can revert you back to smoking. So beware and fight continuously with yourself.

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