Kicking the Habit for Good

• Posted on: Jun 15 2018
• By: Creative Image Laser Solution

Everyone knows smoking is bad for them. But nicotine is ranked as basically equivalent to heroin in terms of its addictive qualities. That’s why various studies have shown the individual success rate when a person tries to quit smoking is less than one in five.

At Creative Image Laser Solutions, smoking cessation is one of the programs we offer. We combine mentors, laser treatments, and a couple of prescription medications to help you finally successfully kick the habit.

First, it’s up to you

To successfully quit, the patient has to want to quit. This sounds obvious, but it’s not so much. Sometimes people think they want to quit, but then plan on smoking occasionally in social situations or the like. But for a person to break the nicotine addiction, there has to be a personal commitment. Our treatment plans help support that commitment.

New medications

Over-the-counter nicotine patches and gum tend to simply replace the nicotine, rather than breaking the addition. At Creative Image, we use two new FDA-approved medications for our smoking cessation patients.

Chantix is a prescription pill taken twice each day. Chantix blocks nicotine from activating the nicotine receptors in your brain, so if you relapse and have a cigarette the cigarette doesn’t give you the pleasurable sensation you are used to. Chantix doesn’t contain nicotine, but it occupies and activates the nicotine receptors in the brain. This produces a pleasurable sensation just like nicotine without the carbon monoxide, tar, and cancer-causing compounds in tobacco smoke.

The second prescription medication we use is Zyban (Wellbutrin). Zyban is an antidepressant used to treat major depressive disorder and seasonal affective disorder. Zyban has a secondary use for smoking cessation, reducing cravings and other withdrawal effects. Zyban reduces interest in smoking, and it lessens its appeal, making it easier to do without.

Beyond medications

Beyond those prescription tools, we offer additional services to help you succeed with cessation. These include counseling/mentors and treatments that involve cold level lasers. When a person stops smoking part of the difficulty is that endorphin levels drop. This leads to anxiety, irritation, and depression. Our cold level laser treatments stimulate the release of the body’s natural “feel good” chemicals — endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine — which helps eliminate the typical downside of withdrawal.

Want to really kick the habit this time? Call us at Creative Image Laser Solutions at (325) 641-1927 and ask about our Smoking Cessation program.

Posted in: blog, Smoking Cessation Program