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The #1 reason smokers keep smoking:
Nicotine is a stronger addiction than most people realize.

Over 35 million smokers try to quit each year, yet less than 5% reach their one-year anniversary. For these smokers the key to stopping may seem elusive. But the facts of nicotine addiction are no mystery.

Nicotine from smoking changes the structure and function of your brain. When the brain stops getting the nicotine it's used to, you begin feeling strong withdrawal cravings. These cravings for cigarettes are actually your brain craving nicotine.

Fact: Nicotine addiction, like other drug addictions, is characterized by compulsive use, even in the face of negative health consequences.

That's the forgotten side of "kicking the habit." Nicotine addiction drives your smoking habit. And unless you can beat the cravings that come from nicotine addiction, you can't beat the habit.

To understand the true nature of nicotine addiction and what it really takes to "kick the habit," click on any of the links above.

Still smoking?
You're not alone — and for good reason.

One of the strongest indicators that nicotine from smoking is addictive is the difference between people's desire to quit and quitting success rates. Surveys have shown that the majority of smokers — around 70 percent — want to stop smoking, yet the successful quit rate remains very low.

Why is nicotine so addictive?
Cigarettes are a very efficient drug-delivery system. Each puff on a cigarette sends nicotine to the brain within 10 seconds. Immediately, we feel more alert and calm. Sometimes euphoric. It feels good, so we have another puff. And another. Soon the brain's chemical structure actually changes. It becomes hooked into wanting more and more nicotine to make the effects last. Just think: if a typical pack-a-day smoker takes 10 "hits" off each cigarette, that's 200 "hits" of nicotine to the brain each day. No wonder smoking is so addictive.

Smoking habits also trigger cravings.
As nicotine addiction sets in, the brain connects our daily routines with cravings to make sure we get a steady flow of nicotine — boosting the role of cigarettes in our life. Without thinking, our normal everyday activities trigger the urge to smoke. Drinking coffee in the morning. Talking on the phone. Work breaks. Driving. During these times, cravings for a smoke are really the brain looking for a nicotine fix.

To stop smoking you need to overcome both nicotine addiction AND
smoking habits.

Nicorette® can help you take charge. See Nicorette & Committed Quitters.

Nicotine & Addiction

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Kicking the Habit

Kicking the habit takes more than willpower.

Of course you need willpower to quit, but knowing how and where to apply your willpower is the real trick to stopping for good. Your cigarette cravings may come during familiar situations (i.e. drinking coffee, driving, etc.), but the root cause is not the situation. It's the brain's addiction to nicotine.
Fact: Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), such as Nicorette® stop-smoking gum, increases your chance of success by relieving your nicotine cravings, allowing you to focus your willpower on changing your behavior.

Nicotine addiction causes your brain to link everyday habits with smoking. So you're actually fighting a battle on two fronts — physical and habitual. Understanding both is key to changing your behavior, making healthier choices and starting a new life as a non-smoker.

There are two sides to quitting — overcoming your withdrawal cravings and changing your behavior.
According to one study, 90 percent of "cold turkey" quitters start smoking again within six months.

The most widely used method of quitting is also the most misunderstood. Going it alone, or going "cold turkey" means relying solely on your willpower to quit. Willpower is essential — you have to really want it. However, nicotine is so addictive that people often underestimate how difficult it is to resist cravings.

Willpower alone vs. chemical dependency is an unfair fight!

Nicotine activates areas of your brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward by raising dopamine levels. Dopamine, also called the pleasure molecule, is the same substance involved in addiction like cocaine and heroin. Once your brain becomes dependent on nicotine, it links the release of dopamine with your smoking habits and behavior.

Going cold turkey means relying 100% on willpower. Nicorette® gum helps relieve the cravings of nicotine addiction, allowing you to focus your willpower on overcoming your smoking habits.

What's more, nicotine cravings don't end after you've smoked your last cigarette. They get worse! Weeks — even months — after your last puff, the cravings remain. That's why most cold turkey quitters fail. They have plenty of willpower but aren't prepared for the strong withdrawal cravings.

Using Nicorette stop-smoking gum to help relieve those cravings doubles the likelihood of success. And adding an individualized plan to help deal with smoking habits improves success rates even more. See Nicorette & Committed Quitters now.

There are many quitting methods available. Your best chance of success is finding the method that works for you. If you're ready to stop, customize your quit plan.
Nicotine addiction

  * Nicotine addiction is stronger and lasts longer than most people realize because smoking changes the structure and function of your brain.
  * For some people, nicotine can be as addictive as cocaine or heroin.
  * Nicotine causes a release of dopamine into the brain, resulting in feelings of pleasure. Heroin and "crack" have the same effects on the brain.
  * Over time, more nicotine is needed to reach the same level of pleasure.
  * If the brain stops getting the nicotine it wants, you'll feel desperate cravings that are hard to overcome with willpower alone.

Cravings pacifier
Learn techniques for dealing with strong cravings so you'll be ready for the very real, physical effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Smoking habit
Smoking habits go beyond nicotine addiction to include people, places, activities, things around us and even moods that are associated with tobacco use. These associations act together with nicotine addiction to reinforce dependence on tobacco.

  * Nicotine withdrawal cravings don't end after you've smoked your last cigarette. They intensify because of your smoking habit addiction.

  * Once you beat your body's physical nicotine addiction, you have a much better chance of kicking your smoking habit. This is why the use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) like Nicorette® gum improves success rates.

  * Tobacco dependence and its major component, nicotine dependence, are progressive, chronic medical disorders similar to dependence on other addictive substances.

Trigger detector
Discover what habits, emotions and senses trigger your smoking, then develop
strategies to avoid or overcome each trigger. It's a crucial first step in breaking
free from tobacco. More >

Stopping smoking

  * A study found over 90% of those who tried to quit "cold turkey" were smoking again within six months.
  * Quitters need to confront both the physical addiction and smoking habit to have the best chance of quitting for good.
  * Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) — such as Nicorette gum — relieves nicotine cravings and increases your chance of success.
  * The more intensively you focus on quitting, the higher your odds of quitting.
  * The more strategies you use to quit, the higher your odds of staying off cigarette