Clean ways to consume nicotine as an alternative to smoking. Fighting addiction. Thoughts on Juul

Is it possible to quit smoking? What do the doctor's say?

Anyone who sincerely wants to quit smoking is capable of doing so. Statistics say that every third person remains a smoker for life, but all is not lost with them. There are plenty of great ways to help even the most avid cigarette smokers quit. The main thing is to find a suitable or safer alternative to cigarettes.

Experts say that there is no habit that a person cannot cope with. Even the myths that there are no former drug addicts (and cigarettes are still a drug), following the developed methods, you can leave the craving for nicotine in the past forever. Vapes, electronic vaporizers, nicotine patches, healthy food - all this can help fight addiction and minimize harm to human health.

Harm from smoking

Nothing can discourage the desire to start smoking more than the terrible statistics of mortality and illness among smokers. This is the best demotivator for those who have decided to try smoking a nicotine stick.

Everyone has seen terrible pictures that literally scream that smoking is bad. There are literally thousands of them! But this is just a drop in the ocean. It is extremely difficult to understand all the harm that comes with heavy smoke. Smoking negatively affects all human organs, and if you do not find an alternative to cigarettes in time, it may be too late. Tobacco smoking is the most common and easily avoidable cause of death in the world. Early mortality, persistent cough, dry mouth, unpleasant odor - all this could have been avoided.

How to deal with withdrawal symptoms?

Not everyone can simply give up a bad habit. An alternative to cigarettes is the only sure way to protect yourself from the harmful effects of smoking.

This is where research by scientists and personal observations of individual users come to the rescue. Anything can be an alternative to smoking! The main thing is to keep yourself busy with something. Many people have heard that after quitting smoking, some people cannot find a place for themselves. This is what people call “breaking”. The person cannot cope with this condition and eventually breaks down. In this case, you need to act more cunningly. It is necessary to deceive the brain and provide it with some kind of replacement.

Is it possible to gain weight and why does it gain weight?

When a person quits smoking, taste buds change, and food seems to taste better. The desire to eat occurs more often.

Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day consumed 200 calories, the equivalent of a sandwich or glass of soda.

Many people get better because they are used to smoking a cigarette after eating. Now the cigarette is replaced by an increase in food.

You need to maintain your weight, not try to lose weight. A “withdrawal syndrome” occurs. Previously, when stressed, I smoked a cigarette, now the brain asks for something else - food.

Nicotine hunger is similar to natural hunger; a person, without realizing it, eats whatever comes to their mind. Treats become a substitute for cigarettes.

Anger, frustration, depression and stress are other withdrawal symptoms. It also causes people to eat more than usual.

Vape: where to start?

A great way to minimize the harm from smoking. At the same time, we should not forget that vaping is the same as using nicotine, so it will not be possible to completely avoid negative consequences. But which e-cigarette alternative is right for a beginner? After all, every day there are more and more brands and manufacturers of different price categories. Fans of alternative cigarettes recommend starting with the iJust brand. Indeed, this is an extremely high-quality product; the manufacturer has managed to establish a good reputation for its products.

The most popular vape today is the Eleaf iJust 3. Even the starter configuration of this device can allow you to forget about tobacco sticks forever. The price for this gadget is average, about 3 thousand rubles. In the same price category is another bright representative of safe alternatives to cigarettes - Joyetech CuBox. This is a stylish and convenient gadget that combines convenience and practicality. The devices have a high battery level and electronic power.

The feeling of consuming nicotine through an electronic vaporizer is not much different from classic tobacco smoking. Vaping reduces withdrawal symptoms, allows you to quit cigarettes and minimizes health harm. And as you know, electronic vaporizers are 95% safer than cigarettes.

Why should you use medications?

The answer is obvious: to facilitate the process of returning to normal life, to shorten the period of discomfort, and sometimes real suffering. Tobacco poison is a drug. It is very difficult to refuse it. Moreover, the body’s reaction to blocking nicotine is strictly individual for everyone.

Some people need support for the nervous system, some need help with matters of the heart, others need to stimulate the cleansing of the lungs. At the same time, everyone struggles with psychological addiction.

That is why there are so many medicines and traditional medicine that can help the patient in this one of the most difficult moments of his life. Their goal is to prevent relapse, ensure a comfortable parting with cigarettes, and support the restoration of the functional potential of organs and tissues. These drugs have different active bases, so they are all divided into several groups according to the principle of their action.

Budget options for electronic evaporators

And yet, not everyone can afford to buy an expensive and powerful vape. And it’s not a matter of the price of the device itself. Maintaining good condition and keeping up with updates on a mediocre Agest can be extremely costly. In this regard, many are beginning to wonder whether it is worth switching to vaping if the expenses are only increasing. Of course, if a person wants to quit smoking, he will find a way, but situations are different. Sometimes you have to settle for a cheaper option.

An excellent choice for beginner vapers on a small budget is the Eleaf iCare Solo starter kit. The device meets all the requirements of a smoker and vaper, but does not have high power. Oddly enough, when it comes to how to replace cigarettes when you quit smoking, this is the best choice. The absorption of nicotine by the body becomes many times lower, even in comparison with more expensive devices. The main disadvantage may be the low battery power; with iCare Solo it is almost impossible to move away from the charger. A vape lasts for a couple of hours, after which “withdrawal” may return.

Benefits of vaping

The main advantage associated with purchasing a vape is its manufacturability and low risks. If cigarettes, in addition to nicotine, may contain several dozen heavy chemical compounds and tars, then an electronic vaporizer simply cannot have such problems. The vape filler does not contain anything unnecessary: ​​propylene glycol, glycerin, a minimum of nicotine and a pleasant flavor. Vapers have no problems with bad breath or the law: at this point, vaping can be used almost anywhere.

Moreover, the risk of cancer and other diseases when vaping is minimized. Vapers are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease, lung disease and other classic problems of smokers.

Three groups of drugs

From a pharmacological point of view, it is advisable to divide all medications involved in the process of parting with tobacco poison into three large groups. In addition, there are small subgroups, depending on the somatic pathology that accompanies the bad habit.

First group

These are substitute drugs. They contain medical nicotine or substances that replace it according to the mechanism of action. By contacting acetylcholine receptors instead of the tobacco alkaloid, they cause the same effect as it does.

However, the indisputable advantage of these products is the absence of combustion products and associated complications and side effects. The drugs provide comfortable abstinence or its complete absence.

There is one minus - they act in such a way that the body continues to need a cigarette or its substitute.

They are used to gradually reduce this need by adjusting doses. Both Nicorette and Tabex are included here.

How to choose a vape liquid?

Switching to steam can come with a lot of questions. There are many manufacturers of consumables, but how not to get confused among all the variety of tastes and smells? When choosing a vape filler, you must be guided by the following criteria:

• Amount of nicotine and strength of the product. An alternative to smoking cigarettes can be a liquid containing 8-12 mg of nicotine. In order to completely quit smoking, you should reduce your concentration.
• Taste. In this matter, you should be guided by your own preferences. It is best to give preference to trusted manufacturers and best-selling products. Fruit and berry flavors from the iLike brand are especially in demand.
• Ratio of natural and vegetable glycerin (PG/VG). This criterion also affects the taste and vaping properties of the device. It is recommended to use a PG/VG ratio of 30 to 70.
• Type and manufacturer of electronic vaporizer. Some, usually cheaper, e-cigarette manufacturers do not involve the use of expensive blends. In order to use e-liquid with a high nicotine content, you need to get a more expensive device. Otherwise, the sediment vapor will not come out of the tube and will remain on the surface. This is of little use, so do not forget about this criterion.

Choosing consumables for vaping is not so difficult. However, if the user is in doubt, you can always read the reviews. Fans of alternative smoking most often choose iLike, LiqOn, Chicano, Steamworks. Professionals warn against ordering filler from unfamiliar resources.

IQOS tobacco heating device

Since 2020, smokers have another alternative to cigarettes - IQOS. Along with the classic production of vape, electronic tobacco evaporators can increasingly be seen on the device market. The alternative cigarette IQOS is a little-studied device, and it’s difficult to say how much safer it is than a vape. At the moment, it is not easy to assess the full extent of the health damage caused by this device. Nevertheless, this is a good replacement for classic tobacco. The heating system can protect against the harmful effects of harmful chemical compounds, leaving nicotine in its composition. The process of smoking remains habitual, and therefore reducing the craving for smoking with the help of this device is quite simple.

How to replace the smoking ritual

For a person who smokes for a long time, the most difficult thing is to replace the smoking ritual itself.
Over the years spent with a bad habit, his daily routine has become established: the day begins and ends with a cigarette, after meals there is also nicotine, and solving difficult issues, production meetings and feasts, in principle, cannot be done without a cigarette. The best alternative to smoking is a healthy lifestyle that simply leaves no time for inhaling. A smoking person can sign up for a gym or a sports section, preferably one that requires a lot of effort and energy.

A fast rhythm of training will immediately show a person’s weaknesses (and for smokers, these are always the respiratory and cardiovascular systems). Given an incentive, a person will strive to quit smoking in order to cope with increasing stress.

To forget about smoking, you need to fill the moments in which a person smoked with other things:

• A toy, for example, a spinner that you can spin in your hands; it is especially important to take it out when your fingers themselves begin to look for a cigarette.
• The smoking habit can be replaced by a walk in the fresh air. It’s worth promising yourself to go outside every time you start to want to smoke.
• Set yourself the condition that after every cigarette you smoke, no matter where you are, you do push-ups on the floor: with this method you can achieve 2 goals, reduce the frequency of smoking (it’s not always convenient to do push-ups in the middle of the street or in a car) and pump up the muscles of the shoulder girdle.
• You can occupy the hands that are reaching for a cigarette pack with any creative activity: knitting, embroidery or cooking (even if these are not the most masculine activities, they are a good distraction for a long time).

To get rid of tobacco addiction, it makes sense to change your behavior and avoid places and situations where you previously had to smoke:

• balcony or entrance hall;
• smoking friends and companies;
• do not drink alcohol;
• try to avoid stressful situations.

How does the IQOS electronic tobacco heater work?

The tobacco consumption system using this device is based on increasing the temperature of nicotine products and their evaporation. IQOS does not set the tobacco on fire, but only heats it to 250-350°, without burning the user’s lips and throat, as is the case with vaping. If we talk about how to replace an electronic cigarette, then this is one of the best options. The smoker does not have to worry about the harm from tar, ammonia, and carbon monoxide, which are largely present in ordinary cigarettes. According to studies carried out at the R&D development center, the harm from smoking is reduced to the same 95% as that of vaping.

Of course, the nicotine present in IQOS stickers is still addictive, but as an alternative to Parliament and other brands of cigarettes it will work just fine! The device helps reduce the concentration of carcinogens in the human body. This makes it one of the safest alternatives to cigarettes.

Dummy cigarettes

The biggest plus is that they do not contain nicotine and completely imitate regular cigarettes. This helps a lot at first. But if you replace some tobacco products with others for a long time, problems will begin. They smoke because paper and filler burn in them, and the clouds of smoke contain carcinogens that penetrate the blood and lungs:

• Methane is a light hydrocarbon, which, contrary to what ordinary people think, has a negative effect on the central nervous system.
• Acetone is a solvent that exhibits narcotic properties. 60 ml is enough to cause loss of consciousness.
• Butane is an alkane class hydrocarbon that causes dysfunction of the bronchopulmonary system.
• Toxic resins – even in the composition of regular smoking cigarettes, they cause irreparable harm to the bronchi and lungs, acting on mucosal cells, destroying them, causing symptoms of inflammation and intoxication.
• Ammonia is the end product of nitrogen metabolism in the body. The liver neutralizes hydrogen nitrite, converting it into less toxic urea. But even with this option, ammonia inside the body exhibits the properties of a toxic carcinogen. The dose is important.
• Methanol is a poisonous wood alcohol, the action of which leads to irreversible changes in all organs and tissues.
• Carbon monoxide is one of the most poisonous compounds (CO), poisoning with it is fatal.
• Benzopyrene has cumulative abilities, accumulates in cells, is integrated into DNA and becomes a trigger for gene mutations.
• Hydrogen sulfide is a gas that has demonstrated the ability to inactivate the sensitivity of the olfactory nerve, leading to loss of perception of toxic vapors in the air. As a result, intoxication occurs suddenly. The lethal dose of this substance for humans is minimal and amounts to only 0.1%. Even this concentration can lead to death within 10 minutes.
• Hydrocyanic acid, together with its derivatives - cyanides - is the most rapidly acting toxic substance known to mankind. It has been used to execute kings and blue bloods for centuries. And today it is the most reliable poison for suicide or murder.
• Radium is a rare earth metal that affects the function of hematopoiesis.
• Polonium is a radioactive element that is the main “silent killer” in regular cigarettes.
• Cesium is a radionuclide that destroys the human genetic code.
• Lead is a heavy metal that accumulates in the bones, kidneys, and spleen, causing severe poisoning when it reaches a certain concentration in the blood.

How does the IQOS electronic vaporizer feel?

The first significant difference from regular cigarettes is the taste. If during classic smoking the user feels a “bouquet” of tar, carbon dioxide and burnt paper, then when heated, the taste of nicotine remains. It is significantly different from the usual and may not appeal to everyone. However, this is a real tobacco taste. People who choose an electronic vaporizer can get used to it for several days, but after some time it will be simply impossible to return to regular cigarettes. It is noted that IQOS users cannot smoke even half a cigarette.

The difference between IQOS and electronic cigarettes

Many smokers who have never tried either one often compare these devices. This prejudice is completely wrong. Electronic cigarettes and vapes use liquid in their composition, which fundamentally distinguishes them both in properties and in impact. Unlike vaping, IQOS uses special stickers filled with natural tobacco (sometimes menthol is added). Nicotine-containing liquids from electronic cigarettes cannot boast of this, since at their core they have “sweet smoke” with artificial additives. In this regard, IQOS looks more convincing and pleasant.

Using Electronic Vaporizers

All evaporator kits contain a standard set of accessories, which will cost you a lot of money. On average, such a device will cost 4500-5000 rubles, and one set will cost about 100 rubles (700-750 per block). The IQOS box contains the device itself (called a holder), a charger and a cleaning kit.

In order to use the device, it needs to be charged. On average, it is enough for 20 sticks (one pack), after which the charging process must be repeated. The sticks are placed in the case, after which you need to press the button, the smoking process can begin. The stick heats up completely in 20 seconds, after which you can take 15-25 classic puffs. The system monitors the user. If the smoker takes many puffs or stops smoking, the device will automatically turn off.

The last stage: complete smoking cessation

As mentioned earlier, smoking is an extremely strong addiction that is extremely difficult to quit. Therefore, first of all, you need to minimize your nicotine consumption. A step-by-step way to quit smoking may involve the use of various harmless alternatives to cigarettes without harming your health. Therefore, after some time, you can switch to proper nutrition, which will help you forget about the bad habit forever.

When cravings become less, it is worth thinking about how to relieve irritability due to the lack of nicotine. Coping with stress may not be easy, but it is still possible. Some products can help restore human health and essential microelements. When quitting smoking, it is recommended to consume the following products:

• Seeds. They will help replace the usual ritual and “keep your hands busy.” Moreover, it is an extremely useful product in the fight against stress, containing a large amount of vitamins. It is recommended to use dried seeds, as they retain all the positive properties of the product to a greater extent.
• Nuts. Another great option for those who don’t know what to do with themselves. There are studies according to which most people who consumed nuts were able to discourage the desire to smoke. The product is extremely high in calories, and therefore should be eaten in moderation.
• Salad with tomatoes. The product contains a small amount of nicotine, which is perfectly absorbed by smokers and dulls the craving for smoking. The vitamins contained in vegetables will also help improve your health and well-being.
• Sour fruits and berries. Consumption of such products significantly reduces the likelihood of nausea, headaches and tinnitus - standard companions for anyone who wants to quit smoking. Sour fruits and berries reduce the likelihood of stress and aggression.
• Celery. To a large extent, it can imitate a cigarette, “deceiving” the human brain. This product has a soothing property and a unique aroma.

Folk remedies for replacing nicotine

Alternative medicine has its own ways to facilitate the process of quitting smoking. From some plants you can make an imitation of cigarettes that fights off pathological cravings. For this we use:

• mullein leaves;
• coltsfoot;
• ginseng;
• azalea;
• coconut shell;
• rosemary.

If you feel the urge to smoke, you can chew ginger root, calamus or a bird cherry stick. Decoctions and infusions of many medicinal herbs can alleviate withdrawal symptoms or cause aversion to cigarettes. Among the popular means:

1. St. John's wort infusion improves mood and reduces stress in the process of quitting smoking. When taking other medications, use it only after consulting a doctor.
2. A decoction of barley, rye and oats, aged for 24 hours. Take 100 grams 3-5 times a day.
3. Infusion of blackcurrant leaves, mint and oregano (proportions 1:2:2). If you want to smoke, you need to drink it or rinse your mouth with it.
4. Oat decoction. Pour one tablespoon of seeds with 0.5 liters of water and leave overnight. In the morning, boil for 10 minutes, let it brew for 40-50 minutes. Drink tea instead.

You can quit smoking by adding unusual substances to cigarettes, such as:

• bird fluff ash mixed with soda (1:1);
• trimmed nails;
• dried and crushed crayfish claw.

You will have to select suitable folk methods using the empirical method (trial and error), since there is no reliable data on their effectiveness.

Conclusion

For many people, the process of smoking has long become a socio-psychological ritual with which a huge part of life is associated. A smoke break is not just a desire to curb the craving for nicotine, but also an opportunity to discuss and think about something. All this is not worth mercilessly ruining your health. The consequences of smoking can be traced throughout a person’s life, significantly reducing its duration. There are no absolutely safe alternatives to smoking cigarettes, and therefore you should think about your health as soon as possible.

Physiological factors in smoking habit

To get rid of the smoking habit, let's pay attention to physiological factors that play a significant role. It is important to break established habits and reflexes associated with smoking:

• purchase only 1 pack at a time, constantly changing the manufacturer;
• place cigarettes, matches, lighters and ashtrays in different places: so that to smoke you need to walk and look for them throughout the apartment;
• remove all attributes reminiscent of smoking;
• do not smoke “for company”;
• more often put a cigarette in the ashtray while smoking;
• leave part of the cigarette half-smoked every day, increasing this length every day;
• smoke without puffing, at least every other time;
• do not go smoking at first, give yourself the instruction to wait from 5 to 30 minutes (increasing this period gradually).

With habit, everything is somewhat more complicated. It develops over several years and is enhanced by psychological dependence on nicotine, which regularly enters the body and affects the psychological state of the smoker.

It is better to replace the habit of smoking with the habit of chewing seeds or blowing bubbles from chewing gum. These seemingly meaningless activities can distract a person and put his thoughts in a direction opposite to the desire to use tobacco.