• 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. Therapeutic Nicotine, such as gum, patches, lozenges and inhalers, relieves those cravings by providing controlled amounts of nicotine at a slower, less intense pace than cigarettes.

Cravings pacifier
Learn techniques for dealing with strong cravings so you'll be ready for the very real, physical effects of nicotine withdrawal. More >

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 the brain's physical nicotine addiction, you have a much better chance of kicking your smoking habit.
  
  
• 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.
• Therapeutic Nicotine, which relieves nicotine cravings, doubles 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 cigarettes.

Customize your quit plan