The idea of giving up smoking is something that almost all smokers consider at some point in time. It might actually be difficult to find a smoker that does not know the harm that smoking can cause. The battle therefore is more than just one of awareness.

Understand the Objective

If you want to quit smoking then you may have to realize that giving up the habit requires step by step management. There is also the need to identify the specific positives that you get from smoking. There are people who smoke from sheer boredom and then there are others that need a cigarette in their hands to relax or release tension. There are also those who start off as social smokers and then cannot kick the habit.

Create your own Game Plan

If you are able to identify the reason why you smoke, you should take specific measures to defeat the craving. If you smoke for relaxation, then substitute the craving with long deep breaths, meditation or exercise. Those who smoke out of boredom should look for a hobby that they are passionate about so that they can keep themselves fervently busy. Social smokers who find comfort in smoking in public may want to check out some counseling classes and those who just have to have a smoke after a meal should try topping the meal with a sumptuous dessert.

Get Support from Friends and Family

If you are trying to quit smoking then you can be sure that you will get all the support that you need from friends and family. Involve them in your decision and tell them to administer a nicotine test to you every week. Just to check. This might help you keep off cigarettes, especially if you do not want to lose face in front of them.

Medication Therapy to Quit Smoking

Nicotine and non-nicotine therapies can be used to ensure that the craving for smoking can be kept at a minimum in the beginning in order to help you manage the change. Nicotine replacement therapy involves the use of nicotine replacement products such as a nicotine patches or nicotine chewing gums. These products work by releasing small amounts of nicotine into the blood stream. This helps in managing the withdrawal symptoms too. The non-nicotine medications help by reducing withdrawal symptoms in a different manner. Bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Chantix) are two medicines that are currently being used.

Non Medication Therapies to Quit Smoking

Other ways in which people quit smoking include hypnosis, acupuncture, behavioral therapy and motivational therapy. The extent to which these remedies work is subjective and non-documented in nature.

Whether it is through medication, alternative therapies or pure will the fact is that the only manner in which you can stop smoking is by making a decision and then sticking to it. While there is no substitute for your determination to quit, a nicotine test can help you keep a check on yourself especially if you have your friends or family around helping to check on you once in a while.

-Article by Anne Hamilton

Photo by Julius Schorzman

What do caffeine and nicotine have in common?  The science stuff:  Both are alkaloids and derived from plants and natural anti-herbivore chemicals. Both readily cross the blood brain barrier that separates the blood stream from the interior of the brain. The basics:  Both caffeine and nicotine are stimulants.  Both increase alertness and concentration and are addictive…but you knew that, didn’t you?

Caffeine

Caffeine is found in beans, leaves and the fruit of some plants. Basically, it acts as a natural pesticide in plants, where it paralyzes or kills insects that feed on the plant. In humans, however, it acts as a stimulant. The most common means of caffeine consumption by humans is beverages prepared from coffee beans and tea leaves. It is also present in various foods and beverages prepared from the kola nut. Other natural sources include plants of species of holly and guarana.

As a central nervous system stimulant, caffeine restores wakefulness by warding off drowsiness, the primary reason for the popularity of coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks. Regular consumption often leads to tolerance. In people who are not tolerant to caffeine it increases the flow of urine when administered in sufficient quantities.

Caffeine is a metabolic stimulant commonly used recreationally…that may sound like a strange way to describe such a common part of our lives, but it’s true. It is also used medically to reduce fatigue. It is absorbed quickly, within 45 minutes, by the stomach and intestines and then transported throughout the body. Caffeine crosses the blood-brain barrier easily and works as a non-selective agonist and combines with adenosine receptors on the surface of cells. Adenosine is a functional nucleotide that is found in every part of the body and plays a significant role in metabolism and is necessary for RNA synthesis.

Once inside the body, caffeine starts having its effect within 30 minutes and when taken in mild quantities, the effect wears off in three to four hours. There is only a temporary reduction in feeling of tiredness and as such, it is an effective external aid for enhancing performance. However, though you might try, it does not obviate the need to sleep.

Caffeine works to increase the number of adenosine receptors in the body, which makes users much more sensitive to adenosine. This results in tolerance or substantial reduction in its effectiveness as a stimulant. At the same time, cessation of caffeine leads to withdrawal symptoms.

Nicotine

Nicotine is found in the nightshade family of plants. As an anti-herbivore chemical, specifically for insects, it was widely used as a natural insecticide. The most common source of nicotine delivery is through tobacco in various forms  smoking, chewing and taken in the nose.

Nicotine inhaled while smoking a cigarette reaches the brain within seven seconds through the bloodstream after crossing the blood brain barrier. The amount of nicotine released in the body depends largely on the type of tobacco and the manner in which it is used. Chewing tobacco or holding tobacco between lip and gum or tobacco taken through the nose delivers a much greater amount of nicotine than cigarette smoking.

Cigarette smoking works as a stimulant as well as a relaxant. Nicotine delivered by smoking or chewing tobacco causes the liver to release glucose and the adrenal medulla to release epinephrine. In the brain, it stimulates the release of numerous chemical messengers including endorphin, the body’s natural analgesic. Apparently, smoking enhances concentration and memory and the analgesic effect of endorphin reduces pain.

The biggest negative effect of smoking or chewing tobacco is dependence and withdrawal. It is at least as addictive as cocaine and heroin. Nicotine dependence is actually the hardest addiction to break. The carcinogenic properties of nicotine have not been properly evaluated but those of cigarette smoking have been well researched. Nicotine does not appear in the group of carcinogens but it increases cholinergic activity, which can potentially lead to cancer. Smoking and the consequent release of carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke, on the other hand, is known to directly cause cancer.

Most surprising of all though, is that nicotine and caffeine have in common that they are natural pesticides! That such common items in our lives contain what could be effective pesticides is in my opinion quite fascinating.

(And by the way, you can check out our nicotine test by clicking on the link.  We do not sell or even think there exists a caffeine test at this time!).

- Anne Hamilton

Some of the specific risks that women face when they indulge are discussed below.

Infertility

Women smokers have reduced fertility. A study showed that 38 percent of non smoking women conceived in their first cycle as against only 28 percent of those who did. A woman smoker is more likely (3.4 times more) to take more than a year to conceive.

Menstruation

Secondary amenorrhea (absence of menstruation or irregular menstruation) is a common issue that female smokers face. Vaginal discharge that is not regular and bleeding is also common. The toxic effect also leads to a quicker menopause than what would have been otherwise.

Hormones

Lower levels of estrogen in women who smoke leads to early menopause! While estrogen replacement therapy helps, taking external hormones and smoking at the same time increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Osteoporosis

Smoking reduces the bone density and therefore increases the already high risk of osteoporosis in women. It was seen that women who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day lower their bone density by 5 to 10 percent. This reduction can lead to significantly higher chances of fractures.

Pregnancy

Women who smoke through their pregnancy have children who are more susceptible to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The habit also leads to preterm delivery that can bring other issues related to it along with. Chances of low birth weight, placenta previa, miscarriage and neonatal death is also common. Smoking can also reduce the flow of blood to the fetus thereby reducing the amount of nutrients that reach it.

Oral contraception

The use of oral contraceptives along with smoking increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases in women by ten times. This smoking risk increases with age and is considerably higher in women above the age of 35.

Other smoking risks

Smoking risks include lung cancer to a large extent in women. It is estimated that about 68,000 women in the US die each year from the condition. The risk of cardiovascular diseases is three times higher in middle aged smoking women than in middle aged non smoking women, according to the American Heart Association. Skin related issues such as wrinkles and spotting are also known to appear in women who smoke. It also leads to yellow and stained teeth, bad breath, tartar deposits and tooth loss.

The best way of managing the issue of smoking is to ensure that you never really start. One way in which you can keep your teenager from smoking is to make her aware that you have a nicotine test at home that you can use anytime. Stay vigilant about telltale signs of smoking so as to prevent the habit from forming in the first place.

Though R.J. Reynolds, the company that makes the cigarettes, pulled the ads in 2008, a new study says they had a big effect on teenage girls. The ads bore a striking resemblance to fashion spreads and ran in women’s magazines like Glamour and US Weekly, which are popular among teenagers. They offered promotional giveaway items like berry lip balm – and cellphone jewelry.

and

While the ad campaign was going on in 2007 and 2008, 44 percent of teenage girls said they had a favorite cigarette ad – up from less than one-third in 2003. Those who said Camel was their favorite ad doubled, from 10 to 13 percent to 21.5 percent, even while Marlboro’s popularity held steady.

“There was no such increase in brand awareness among boys, which strongly suggests it was the Camel No. 9 brand — the girl brand — that did it,” said Dr. Cheryl G. Healton, president of the American Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing youngsters from smoking and one of the authors of the paper.

Camel seems to be pushing the maxim “any publicity is good publicity” here.  They are explicitly not allowed to target youth, and of course in the US people under the age of 18 are not allowed to purchase cigarettes.  But tempting youngsters is a tempting prospect to the giant corporations – why not corner a new market?  As the study above suggests, that is exactly what Camel did – to 174,000 girls under the age of 18.

For parents, this signals business as usual from cigarette companies.  As always, vigilance is required.  If you want to know for sure that your child is not smoking cigarettes, purchase an inexpensive nicotine test and you will be able to find out.  Even as restrictions tighten, cigarette companies seem to have little trouble finding ways to broaden their consumer base.

When your body takes in nicotine, it starts to break it down.  HowStuffWorks.com walks us through the process.

The liver breaks down nicotine into cotinine, the amount of which is proportionate to the amount of nicotine in your body (even nicotine that entered through second hand smoke).  In the lungs, nicotine is also broken down into cotinine, as well as nicotine oxide.

Cotinine is what tobacco tests really look for.  It takes about two to five hours for it to begin showing up in the urine, assuming for example that this is your first cigarette ever.  If you smoke daily, it will already be in your body from repeated previous uses.  How fast cotinine leaves your body is dependent upon metabolism, which can vary greatly between people (for example, some people are not able to break down nicotine in the body as easily as others; these people actually tend to smoke less, because maintaining a steady level of nicotine in the body requires fewer cigarettes).  In general though, a tobacco test can detect use for about 2-4 days after the cessation of smoking.

So if you want to see if someone has been smoking, or if your body contains cotinine, a tobacco test is your best option.  That way you don’t have to wonder about metabolism issues and the like – you can just find out, cheaply and at home.  Cotinine is also standard not just for home tests but for testing in general, since it is so suggestive of tobacco consumption and lasts longer in the body than nicotine.

Hopefully this answers some questions about how long nicotine stays in the body!  If you are interested in a tobacco test you can purchase one from us for $2.79 each.

Their keys to quitting include keeping tabs on every tobacco user that enters the office and adding “tobacco use” to the vital signs of a healthcare chart.  Tobacco use is to be incorporated into most health advice, and assessments are to be made at every visit – is so and so willing to quit?  It is also really important that quitting be seen as a group effort, as opposed to an individual struggle.  To quote from the article:

Assist Aid the patient’s efforts to quit by providing counseling and pharmacotherapy. Clinicians should guide the patient’s preparations for quitting, such as have the patient set a quit date; have the patient tell family, friends, and coworkers about the quit attempt and request support; tell the patient to anticipate challenges, including nicotine withdrawal symptoms; and have the patient remove tobacco products from the environment. The use of effective medications should be recommended to those patients  who may need them. Appropriate medications can reduce withdrawal symptoms and increase chances of quitting success.

We believe that among the many uses of our tobacco test, creating an evaluative environment is one of them.  The test can be used or not used by the person trying to quit, or family and friends around them – but its presence in the home is a way of keeping someone honest.  As the article states, smoking is a chronic disease, and there are many cases in which one might want to give it their all to get someone they know to quit smoking.

The article has all sorts of great considerations that can help you shape a serious effort to be a tobacco quitter or be someone who helps someone who is quitting.  With help, focus, concentration, and nicotine tests, people can quit smoking.  It’s one area in which you definitely, definitely want to be a quitter!

If you try and ask advice of smokers who have successfully quit smoking for good, you shall find that there are as many suggestions as smokers. While you can review each one of these methods, you will have to check out the one that works best for you. Make sure that you continuously use tobacco testing at home so that you can be aware of the presence of nicotine in your body. Awareness of the pervasiveness of nicotine in your body with these nicotine tests may actually shake you out of your inertia.

Such testing can be done at home very easily. All that you need is a small sample of urine. The tobacco test checks out the level of cotinine in the urine. This is a by-product of nicotine that is processed in your body and excreted through the urine. This is why the nicotine test is also called the cotinine test at times.

Some of the methods that you can adopt to quit smoking have been listed below. These can be used as standalone options or in combination to ensure that you are able to successfully quit the habit. While you work with these methods, use the tobacco test as well.

- Just quit – Some people believe that a slow reduction in the number of cigarettes is not an option but that a cold turkey method should be adopted.

- Reduction over time – This is a method that can help if you have specific times when you reach out for a cigarette and want to slowly eliminate those rituals as days pass. Use a nicotine test when you finally have not smoked for a few days. This can be a great motivator because you can see how your body is actually getting cleansed – you will see after 2 to 4 days that you actually test negative for nicotine!

- Quit with a friend – This is another method that works because it creates a sense of competition and/or cooperation.

There are other methods like nicotine patches, nicotine chewing gums, nicotine lozenges and nicotine inhalers that you can use. Whichever choice you make, everyone wishes you the best of luck in quitting smoking!  As a company that specializes in the home drug test, we know of a lot of drugs out there, and nicotine certainly is hard to quit!  That’s why we have a test designed along those lines to help you with that legal but addictive substance.

- Anne Hamilton

Some fast facts about from the American Cancer Society about smoking. Did you know…:

This is the 34th Great American Smokeout?

That smokers who quit at age 35 gain an average of eight years of life expectancy?

That smokers who quit at 65 gain three years?

So it is never too late to quit smoking, nor is it an impossible task.

We welcome you to join us on twitter (we are HomeHealthTweet) with any of your comments about the Great American Smokeout, or if you have any questions about our nicotine test. It works like any home drug test we carry (check them out by clicking on the link) that requires a urine sample, and is just as easy to do and accurate. Quitting smoking is, as the American Cancer Society says, about commitment – and it is good to have as many tools by your side to make sure you stay the course once you choose to quit. There may be events going on in your area, or support groups springing up to help you make the choice to quit.

A tobacco test could be your best friend during the Great American Smokeout tomorrow and days hence! We wish everyone luck tomorrow with quitting and look forward to your comments and questions. If you wish to add a home nicotine test to your efforts, just click on the link and checkout as an anonymous guest or register with us. You can change the quantity from 5 to 10 pack, and choose how many of the chosen pack you would like at the shopping cart screen. We hope you find our nicotine test an effective way to keep committed to quitting – for good!

But in addition to using a nicotine test to quit, you may also want additional help and resources, one of the reasons why the link above is so great. We also found this easy 6 question test brought to you by the University of Maryland Medical System. It’s a nicotine dependency test. Based on your answers to the questions, the test will tell you how dependent you are and what methods of quitting might best help you – behavior modification, nicotine replacement therapy, etc.

Now of course, you can buy a nicotine test at any time during the year, and you can access great “how to quit smoking” features online all the time too. The US government set up a website entirely dedicated to quitting smoking at Smoke Free. Smoke Free.gov recognizes the difficulty of quitting and the unique journey everyone makes. Controlling a craving for a cigarette can be extremely difficult – that is why some people use a nicotine test as a benchmark to prove they did not smoke, for themselves and for others who may be helping them in their quitting effort. Knowing that a cigarette might be the difference between passing or failing a tobacco test is a strong motivator. You want to both beat the habit and pass the test. Our packaging is ideal for this kind of use, as this home drug test comes bundled in five and ten packs.

Home Health Testing wants you to know that there are plenty of resources out there to help you quit smoking, and you are not alone in doing it! You can make November 19, or any day, the beginning of your effort. Check out the links in our article and/or head to our nicotine test page to purchase a test.