Quitting Cigarettes

[Dsav101]

Nov. 10th I will be three years without a cig. I smoked for only about 10 years though. About a pack to pack and a half a day. I just went cold turkey. I finished a pack at night, decided not to go to the store to pick up another one, and that was that. My wife agreed and since that night neither of us have smoked a cig again. It was tough but we were there for each other and helped each other through it! As a side note, I do know a ton of people using chantrix that have quit. I believe that it is pretty expensive and you have to be prescribed it. Hope it helps and best of luck brother!

Don

 

[Devil Doc]

Merk,You need to go back and review your course notes in neurophysiology. Norepinephrine and dopamine are drugs that are re-uptake inhibitors, not neural transmitters. What you're thinking of is endorphins. They have a similar effect on the brain as opiates in that they give you a feeling of well being. However, you have to be quite an athlete for this to occur.

Doc.

 

[MoeCizlak]

Good luck to you. I quit chewing tobacco cold turkey but have never smoked cigarettes consistently. You can do this bro!!

 

[merkinmullet]

Those neuropsych notes hit the trash can minutes after the final! But, I did do some searching on line.

Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter occurring in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. Dopamine is commonly associated with the pleasure system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate a person proactively to perform certain activities.

Norepinephrine is synthesized from dopamine by dopamine β-hydroxylase. It is released from the adrenal medulla into the blood as a hormone, and is also a neurotransmitter. Norepinephrine affects parts of the brain where attention and responding actions are controlled. Along with epinephrine, norepinephrine also underlies the fight-or-flight response.

A re-uptake inhibitor is a chemical that keeps the neurotransmitter from reaching its goal. Since the receptor doesn't receive the neurotransmitter, it calls for more, thus flooding the synaptic gap with more neurotransmitter. Examples are cocaine for dopamine, tricyclic anti-depressants for norepinephrine, and SSRIs (Prozac, Paxil etc.) for serotonin.

Wellbutrin is an anti-depressant that targets dopamine primarily, as well as norepinephrine and serotonin. As a smoking cessation aid, it is known as Zyban.

From an AP article, "Taylor theorized that exercise could produce the mood-enhancing hormone dopamine, which could, in turn, reduce smokers' nicotine dependence.

Norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin are all linked to addiction and cigarette addiction. Exercise has been shown to increase the levels of these three. I am saying a 10 minute walk may release these chemicals, but it should surely be a distraction to the smoking urge, at the least. Doc, thanks for goading me into restudying some of what I thought I knew. I never thought I'd be discussing this on a cigar board.

Yansfan, regardless of being misguided in your baseball affiliation, you can do it!

Merk,You need to go back and review your course notes in neurophysiology. Norepinephrine and dopamine are drugs that are re-uptake inhibitors, not neural transmitters. What you're thinking of is endorphins. They have a similar effect on the brain as opiates in that they give you a feeling of well being. However, you have to be quite an athlete for this to occur.

Doc.

 

[Devil Doc]

Merck, it seems I'm the one who should re-read my notes. Thanks for clearing that up.

Doc.

 

[Gator]

I never smoked, but dipped Copenhagen / Skoal for 25 years, off and on. Quitting was easy, did it at least a dozen times :laugh: I quit again Jan 1, and it's getting better, but for about 3 weeks it was rough. IMO the hardest part is staying quit, and i've learned to not fool myself into thinking i can chew occasionally, because i can't. About 20 years ago, i walked away from cocaine addiction, and it seems harder to get free of dipping than it was to get clean.

Stay strong, and if you're a person of faith, pray alot.