Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do to improve your life and health. Any attempt to quit smoking will make you stronger. It's never too late to reap the benefits, some of which happen within the first few days. With the right combination of practice, determination and support, you will be able to stop smoking for good!
Quit smoking and you'll start feeling better within 24 hours. The minute you stop smoking, your body will begin cleansing itself of tobacco toxins. Two days after you quit, your risk of heart attack will start decreasing ... and that's just the beginning!
Nicotine is a drug that is inhaled from the tobacco in cigarettes. It gets into the bloodstream, and stimulates the brain. Most regular smokers are addicted to nicotine.If you are a smoker, when the blood level of nicotine falls, you usually develop withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness, increased appetite, inability to concentrate, irritability, dizziness, constipation, nicotine craving, or just feeling awful. These symptoms begin within a few hours after having the last cigarette. If they are not relieved by the next cigarette, withdrawal symptoms get worse. If you do not smoke any more cigarettes, the withdrawal symptoms peak after about 24 hours, and then gradually ease over about 2-4 weeks. So, most smokers smoke regularly to feel 'normal', and to prevent withdrawal symptoms.About 2 in 3 smokers want to stop smoking but, without help, many fail to succeed. The main reason why so few smokers succeed, even though they want to stop smoking, is because nicotine addiction is strong and difficult to break. This is where Zyban can help.
Zyban is a medicine that was first developed to treat depression. It was found that it helped smokers to stop smoking. It is not clear how it works. It alters the level of some chemicals in the brain (neurotransmitters). This seems to relieve the withdrawal symptoms that you get when you stop smoking (such as craving, anxiety, restlessness, headaches, irritability, hunger, difficulty with concentration, or just feeling awful).
Taking Zyban does increase the chance of quitting smoking. Various studies have looked at this issue. The studies compared Zyban to a similar dummy (placebo) tablet in people who were keen to stop smoking. The results from the studies showed that, on average, about 19 in 100 people who took Zyban stopped smoking successfully. This compared to about 10 in 100 who took the dummy (placebo) generic. In other words, about twice the number of smokers who take Zyban stop smoking compared to those who don't, and about 1 in 5 smokers who want to stop will do it with the help of Zyban.
Zyban is not without side-effects. According the the Zyban website, "The most common side effects experienced with Zyban drugs include dry mouth and difficulty sleeping. There are other risks associated with the use of Zyban medicine, so it is important to talk to your healthcare professional to see whether Zyban meds is right for you. There is a risk of seizure associated with Zyban medicines, which is increased in certain patients."
Zyban has proven more effective than placebo in clinical testing, with success rates ranging as high as 58% in one study. Most studies showed success rates at somewhere between 15%-25%. Long-term success rates are obviously on the lower end, as smokers tend to relapse after longer periods of time. Some studies included using Zyban in conjunction with nicotine patches.
