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What All Successful Quitters Have in Common - Tomorrow there will be millions of comfortably recovered nicotine addicts alive on planet earth and they will all have one thing in common - today they did not put any nicotine into their bodies.  Most mastered the "Law of Addiction" through repeated relapse and the school of hard-quit-knocks. In fact, only a tiny percentage learned it at education oriented forums such as this. But far too many broke free without developing an appreciation for the power of one puff of nicotine to trigger full and complete relapse back to their old level of intake or higher. Sadly, their ignorance of nicotine's true power may someday combine with other relapse factors to again deprive them of freedom.

Open Lies and Hidden Truths - We nicotine addicts have been lied to by so many for so long that it's growing harder and harder to believe anyone.  It's my belief that the most damaging and deplorable lie of all is being told by those seeking to increase market share in selling some quitting product, service or procedure by use of media campaigns that seek to brainwash smokers into believing that few nicotine addicts successfully quit cold turkey, that you have to be a superhero to do so, or that it requires a Herculean effort to succeed. 

To the contrary, even today with smokers being drowned in a sea of quick-fix cures that include clean nicotine delivery products, magic herbs, hypnosis, Smoke-Away, acupuncture, lasers, and every gimmick and ploy imaginable, the American Cancer Society's 2003 Cancer Facts and Figures report asserts that 91.2% of all successful long-term quitters quit entirely on their own. 

Sadly, even the Cancer Society ignores achievement when it comes to recommending how to quit. Might it have anything to do with the millions of dollars it has received for the sale of its trusted logo to those selling NRT? When it comes to magic quitting cures there is only one with the potential to keep you 100% nicotine free and it's "you!"

We all dream of a cure for nicotine dependency but we must not close our eyes and minds to real-world results in an arena where the most ridiculous or even fraudulent quitting scheme imaginable (eating one cup of BillyBob's specially formulated lima bean butter daily) should statistically generate quitting testimonials from roughly 10% of users at six months and 5% at a year (the "on-your-own" quitter's own natural odds). What's amazing is that the 10% who quit for 6 months while eating BillyBob's cure will each deeply believe that the butter was almost entirely responsible. You simply will not be able to convince them otherwise so don't waste your breath.

Imagine regular AA meetings where alcoholics came together to educate, inspire and support successful recovery. Imagine the group achieving some rather amazing recovery rates in the 20 to 40% range at six months. Now imagine someone actually packaging and selling the program to alcoholics for $200 as a stand alone personal recovery tool, in which they were told that they could expect the exact same odds of recovery by holding their own personal AA meeting with no one ever in attendance but them. How long would it take for allegations of consumer fraud to start flying if 93% buying and trying the tool were relapsing to alcohol within six months?

Nicotine Replacement Therapy - NRT - California, Minnesota, Quebec, London, Maryland, it should bother all of us that we have yet to see a single real-world quitting survey in which those using expensive over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy quitting products like the patch, gum or lozenge (OTC NRT) performed any better than those quitting entirely on their own. Such smoker quitting surveys are relatively inexpensive, quick, and successful quitters have no reason to lie about how they quit. But those with a financial stake in NRT quickly dismiss "real world" performance as "unscientific."

The websites and commercials of those marketing the NRT patch, gum, inhaler and lozenge continue to hide the fact that a March 2003 study, conducted by NRT industry consultants, combined and average all seven over-the-counter NRT patch and gum studies and found that only 7% of study participants were still not smoking at six-months.  Their web sites and commercials keep secret the fact that it's actually worse, in that the same industry consultants published a November 2003 study which found that as many as 7% of successful gum quitters and 2% of patch users were still hooked on the gum or patch at six months.  Obviously these were to entirely different studies but even so the math screams for answers.

Nor will those with a financial stake tell you that if you've already tried quitting once with the nicotine patch that they have known since as early as 1993 that your odds during a second or subsequent attempt drop to near 0%.  They will also never reveal that up to 36.6% of all current nicotine gum users are chronic long-term users of greater than 6 months (Tobacco Control, Nov. 2003).  But why?

If you are able to get your brain's dopamine, adrenaline and serotonin pathways adjusted to again functioning without nicotine at the exact same time that you are feeding them nicotine you should be extremely proud of yourself because you are in fact a superhero.  But if you are among the 93 out of 100 first time OTC NRT users who quickly relapse, or among the nearly 100% who fail during a second or subsequent attempt, do not grow discouraged as you are in some wonderful wonderful company.

Nicotine addicts are not breaking free because of weeks or months spent toying with clean nicotine but in spite of having done so. Your core dreams and desires of quitting are not altered by standing in front of any weaning product or lima bean butter. It is "you" who'll do the work. As long as you find a means to support and keep your day #1 dreams vibrant and alive long enough to allow you to again become entirely comfortable within your own skin without any nicotine, you'll eventually be free to award full credit for your dreams and form of support to any product or procedure you desire.

One final recent NRT study revelation. Would you be able to tell if the nicotine gum you were assigned to chew in an NRT study was nicotine-free placebo gum instead of the real thing? So could far too many of them. If you joined the study expecting to receive weeks or months of free nicotine gum would you have stuck around once your expectations became frustrated? If others did the same, how valid would the study results be if they declared that twice as many nicotine gum users quit as those those assigned to receive placebo gum?

As shown by the June 2004 Blind Spot study, anyone asserting that NRT studies were truly blind or that their results are "science-based" has their head in the sand. Is it even possible to use placebos when comparing performance to a psychoactive chemical generating a dopamine/adrenaline high?

Again, it should be noted that the below NRT studies focus almost exclusively on over-the-counter (OTC) replacement nicotine products used as stand alone recovey tools. Obviously, NRT use compliance would be expected to increase when used in conjunction with any other proven intervention, such as counseling, education or support. But with an almost complete absence of NRT compliance programs in U.S. cities, and only about 1% of all quitters turning to the Internet for cessation assistance, the below studies accurately reflect how almost all replacement nicotine products are today being used.

Keep in mind that a 7 mg. nicotine patch delivers the nicotine equivalent of smoking seven cigarettes a day. In the end, all drug addicts who successfully recover give-up their drug. At that moment the rule becomes the same for all ... no nicotine just one day at a time ... Never Take Another Puff, Dip, Suck, Chew or Patch!

Bupropion (Zyban/Wellbutrin) - Looking back to the early studies, there is no debate but that bupropion use demonstrates an early advantage over placebo of roughly 10-15 percentage points at six months. What is of concern is that its six-month advantage gradually diminishes over time with a number of studies now reporting little or no difference between bupropion and placebo group performance rates between one and two years. But why?

It would seem that ending bupropion use somehow brings with it its very own adjustment period with increased risks of relapse. We know that it elevates dopamine levels -- to a much lesser degree than nicotine -- along with elevating serotonin and norepinephrine. Although for many quitters it clearly takes the anxiety edge off of early withdrawal, it's probably important to appreciate and anticipate that there is likely additional brain pathway re-sensitization (and the need for conscious adjustment to that re-sensitization) that will be necessary once bupropion use ends.

Although adverse reaction risks associated with bupropion use are very real, including a 1 in 1,000 risk of seizures, they pale in comparison to the continuing risks associated with ongoing dependency upon smoking nicotine. Do not let anyone scare you into believing that any medication risk could possibly come close to the 50% risk of death associated with your chemical addiction to smoking nicotine.

That being said, it is also important to note that should you start taking bupropion and be forced to stop due to an adverse reaction, there is absolutely no reason why you won't be able to continue to remain nicotine free. Yes, for some it takes the edge off but edge or not the next few minutes are all that matter and each will be entirely do-able!

If you should give bupropion a try, be sure and read the prescribing information sheet that comes with it, stay alert for the adverse reactions listed, and if at all concerned immediately pick-up the telephone and call your physician or pharmacist.

Hypnotism and Acupuncture - The traveling hypnotist and your local acupuncturist will never tell you that all objective independent study evidence to date has found both procedures ineffective in helping smokers quit.  Why?  They will not share objective independent study findings because they know just how badly you want to break free and know that you're willing to pay hard earned money for a quick and painless cure.

That being said, the absence of current objective evidence does not mean that some practitioner might not eventually develop a procedure that is in fact effective. But ask yourself, if you developed a quitting procedure that was highly effective wouldn't you want to have it either independently evaluated or open and transparent for all eyes to evaluate for themselves?

It is also important to note that the most worthless product or procedure on earth can be given the illusion of effectiveness by being combined with tools that are effective. Education, understanding, new coping skills, counseling, physician involvement, group or individual support from ex-smokers, friends or society, financial incentives, and bupropion (Zyban/Wellbutrin) have all demonstrated varying degrees of "real-world" advantage. When combined with any product or procedure they have the ability to make that product or procedure look vastly superior to its true merits if any).

"How Effective is Hypnosis?"

"How Effective is Acupuncture?"

Ten Free, Healthy and Productive Quitting Aids - The bottom line is that there is only one quitting aid that can 100% guarantee success and it' you! This can be the most amazing temporary journey of adjustment and healing you've ever made if you'll only expand your mind to believe that encountering and overcoming each and every challenge is a very necessary part of a full and complete recovery. You're going home to the most amazing sense of inner quiet and calmness you've known since nicotine took control. Embrace the journey. Embrace recovering the real neurochemical you!

1.	A detailed list of your reasons for quitting.
2.	An understanding of how our "reasons for quitting" serve as the wind beneath the recovery wings of every successful ex-smoker.
3.	An educated mind that understands the core principles of chemical dependency upon nicotine and how to break its grip so that true healing can at last begin.
4.	A no-nonsense nicotine-free source of rock solid motivational support that will stay in your corner for at least 90 days (a dedicated friend, a local support group, a telephone quitline committed to nicotine cessation, or an online forum such as Freedom from Tobacco).
5.	Three days of acidic fruit juices to counter low blood sugar symptoms and accelerate depletion of the alkaloid nicotine within your body.
6.	A sense of recovery patience that abandons the big bite concept of quitting forever and instead embraces a manageable and do-able one day at a time recovery philosophy that celebrates each hour, challenge, and day of healing and freedom as the complete victory each reflects.
7.	A positive can-do attitude!
8.	Slow deep dopamine generating breaths into the bottom of both lungs, a nice cool glass of refreshing dopamine generating water, and taking a brief moment to feel a sense of real pride and dopamine generating accomplishment as your healing survives yet another less than three minute crave episode and you move one wonderful step closer to again comfortably engaging life as you!
9.	A big big dopamine generating hug, if available, or a bit of self-love or self-like if not.
10.	Always remembering the one rule that if followed provides a 100% guarantee of permanent success to each of us- no nicotine today, Never Take Another Puff!