Since ages, smoke and human life share an inverse liaison i.e. a surge in the former brings a reduction in the quality as well as quantity of the latter. The smoke that is rich in the hazardous substance called nicotine enters human body via cigarette smoking. The active smokers as well as the passive ones both suffer greatly due to smoking. Studies and surveys reveal the escalating number of human lives that smoke swallows each day. Keeping this alarming death rate because of cigarette smoking in mind, doctors have developed new therapies, the government and some non-profit organizations have initiated certain quit smoking programs to make people aware of injurious effects of smoking. This article will enumerate the various new and beneficial measures taken in this direction.

1. In order to save an individual’s life from smoking, the foremost strategy is to treat the rinse out the excess of nicotine in his body. The ‘Nicotine Therapies’ or ‘Nicotine Replacement Therapies’ (NRT’s) work for this very purpose. During the course of this therapy, the individual is restrained from smoking by feeding him with calculated doses of nicotine to avoid detrimental consequences. This keeps the person in a balanced state and minimizes the craving for cigarette as the dosage of nicotine is reduced gradually.

Nicotine substitution is also done via nicotine-laced chewing gums. This method to quit cigarette smoking can be traced back to 1971 when Pharmacia developed it and FDA approved of it in 1984. These gums were successful to a particular extent but lost worth when people started getting addicted to them. Apart from nicotine-laced gums, inhalers, nasal sprays and transdermal skin patch are other devices that function for the same cause. Amongst these the transdermal skin patch form of NRT is greatly acclaimed. Users put the nicotine patch to have time-released assistance.

2. Prescription drugs such as Bupropion or Zyban and Buspirone or BuSpar have proved to be of tremendous help to chain smokers in limiting smoking addiction. Basically these drugs are antidepressants and are prescribed to patients of depression. But they have also proved to be greatly effective in controlling the smoking habit.

3. Hypnosis is a psychotic therapy to lessen smoking obsession. Hypnosis purges the individual of pro-smoking thoughts and fills him with revulsion to smoking. This is possible because hypnosis takes the person in a semi-conscious state where he can be programmed to do things which the hypnotist wants him to do. Regular hypnotic treatment has diminished cigarette craving to a large extent.

4. Negative Stimuli method for quitting smoking involves giving small electric shocks that injects in the person a reluctance to smoke.

5. Rapid Smoking or Satiation Smoking, as the name suggests is to induce in the addict an aversion to smoke by giving him a hefty dosage of cigarettes. He is made to smoke twice the number of cigarettes he smokes regularly. In most of the cases at the end, the person starts feeling sick of nicotine and dislikes cigarette.

6. However, none of these tough therapies can be fruitful unless an addict himself decides to refrain from smoking. ‘God helps those who help themselves’. Self desire and strong will are essential pre requisites to any kind of quit smoking treatment. Self-help is the best help, so, an individual should be absolutely prepared to save his life from devastation due to smoking