Remember the good old days when you could go to a restaurant and be asked that simple, yet wonderful question: Smoking, or Non? One day children will be amazed to hear we were (gasp) allowed to smoke in restaurants. Just as I am amazed to think of how my older co-workers remember smoking inside the office. Right at their desks! Yes, times have changed. And they continue to change. Smokers are becoming the lepers of the 21st century. And if the feeling of being an outcast isn’t enough to get smokers to quit, the increased health insurance will be. Many companies (including the one I work for) will soon begin charging all smokers an extra $50.00 every month for health insurance.
Okay, so you want to quit. Well, maybe you don’t WANT to quit, but you’re going to do it anyway. We all pretty much know our options. The patch. The gum. The drugs. Fortunately, science is coming up with a few more options for those of us trying to snuff out our last butt.
A Nicotine Vaccine
Yes, that’s right. Scientists are currently working on a vaccine against nicotine. It’s not the nicotine that’s necessarily the most dangerous part of a cigarette, but nicotine is the compound that makes us want to keep smoking, and smoking, and smoking. Nicotine is like an evil little imp. Nicotine seeps into your bloodstream and essentially causes your brain to release some extra dopamine into your body. And dopamine is a good thing. It makes you feel very, very good. To give you an example of this, dopamine is also released from such things as food, sex and drugs. So when you smoke, you get extra dopamine in your system…and that’s a hard thing for your body to give up.
The Nicotine Vaccine called NicVax would essentially put antibodies into your body that works like a boot on a car. It keeps nicotine from getting your body to release dopamine. So the theory behind this shot is: No dopamine = no feel-good feelings = no more desire to smoke.
Initial studies are showing that when smokers get the antibodies in this vaccine, they are more likely to quit smoking. NicVax only lasts about 6 months, but that’s long enough to get new non-smokers over the hardest hump. Unfortunately for those wanting to quit smoking now, NicVax is still currently in the testing stages only.
4 New Ways to Quit
1. Short burst of energy. New research shows that when a smoker trying to quit gets the craving for a smoke, he should hit the gym for about a half hour. Apparently this quick dose of exercise calms your cravings. It seems this would have something to do with your body’s desire for dopamine. A good workout can release endorphins, giving your body that feel-good feeling it’s used to getting with nicotine.
2. Online support groups. It’s the middle of the night and you REALLY want a cigarette. Your snoozing wife may not be so supportive of you at 2am. Neither might your coworker if you were to call him. But with online groups like Quitnet you can always find someone to help talk you down at just about any time of the day. And it’s someone who knows what you’re going through.
3. Wonder drug. Well, I don’t know if it’s actually a wonder drug, but Chantrix is the newest stop-smoking drug that’s proving successful for many people. It works essentially the same way as the vaccine is supposed to work. Except while the vaccine may be 5 years away, Chantrix is available now.
4. Patch it up. Wait. I’m not talking about using the patch the ordinary way: quit smoking then slap on the patch. No. People have found a new way to use the patch system that some research shows will DOUBLE your success rate! Start using the patch WHILE you’re still smoking! That’s right. Wear the patch during the last 2 weeks of smoking and then continue wearing it (like it’s intended) after you quit. However, a warning: it’s dangerous to put too much nicotine in your body, so you need to check with a doctor before you try this trick.
