Nicotine & Cigarettes

Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs and one of the most heavily used and abused in the U.S. Adults from 18 to 25 are currently the highest rate of current use of any tobacco or nicotine products but the problem is prevalent throughout all age groups.

Cigarette smoking is the most popular method of nicotine intake, and due to the highly commercialized nature of it, is still the most prevalent. Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, (i.e. cigars, chewing tobacco, pipes, etc.) are highly addictive and nicotine is chemical that causes the addiction in all those products. Smoking is also a leading cause for strokes, lung cancer and one of the major causes of death in the U.S.

Health Hazards
Nicotine is highly addictive and its effect on the body creates almost immediate addiction. Nicotine has an immediate effect on the system due to the immediate discharge of epinephrine from the adrenal cortex that then stimulates the central nervous system (CNS), which causes an instant release of glucose. Due to the instant high and immediate low, withdrawal symptoms are very strong and addiction is almost instantaneous and common. Withdrawal can be very difficult to go through and leads many “cold turkey’ quitters back to cigarettes fairly quickly.

Treatment
No two nicotine addiction patients are alike, so no two treatments are the same, but it has been shown that a combination of medication and behavioral treatment have the highest percentage of success in overcoming nicotine addiction. The behavioral treatment needs to include psychological support and training to help patients overcome potentially risky situations once they’ve left treatment.

Nicotine Gum is a more recent medication that has been approved by the FDA as an effective treatment to overcome nicotine addiction. It isn’t a fool proof method and the chances of success increase exponentially when the nicotine gum is combined with a medically supervised treatment plan that one can find at facilities like Archstone Recovery. Like the nicotine gum, the nicotine patch is another alternative form of treatment that varies greatly in success rates and can lead to much greater success when combined with a supervised treatment program as found at Archstone Recovery Center.

At Archstone Recovery Center, we know that many nicotine addiction patients are coming from potentially traumatic Interventions and/or counseling sessions, so we do everything in our power to make the transition to our facility as smooth as possible. We follow the 12 step plan and believe it provides a perfect guideline for facilitating someone through the process of addiction recovery.