Smoking is one of the most difficult habits to quit. Highly addictive, it requires a great deal of will power which most people find difficult to muster. Hence, additional help is required. Now, apart from the standard commercially produced remedies like nicotine patches and chewing gum, people have realized that natural remedies are more likely to be effective.

Acupuncture

One of the more popular remedies is acupuncture, which involves the use of hair thin needles which are inserted into different points in and around the ear. For additional support between sessions, some acupuncturists offer tiny balls, about the size of a ball-point pen tip, that are taped to the ear with invisible tape. When the smoker experiences a craving for nicotine, pressure has to be applied on the ball, which in turn stimulates the acupuncture point.

Lobelia

The herb lobelia (lobelia inflata) is used in many anti-smoking products and has been found to help smokers tackle the effects of nicotine withdrawal. Lobeline, the active ingredient in lobelia, is considered to have similar effects on the body as nicotine.

Research has shown that lobeline possibly increases levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain as do cigarettes. Dopamine affects mood and induces feelings of pleasure.

St. Johns Wort

Although St. John’s Wort (Hypericum Perforatum) is primarily used for depression, some research on this herb has shown that it often helps people with quitting smoking.

Ginseng

Ginseng has been known to retard the nicotine-induced release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine helps people feel good after smoking which is a big part of the addiction process.

Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy offers a psychological approach to fight cigarette addiction. During hypnotherapy, the patient is subjected to subliminal commands to the brain to fight the addiction to nicotine. Music is played to relax him/her, increasing susceptibility to the message.

Quitting smoking is one of the most difficult things to do. There are a lot of people who have tried countless methods only to fail over and over again. The craving for nicotine is in the blood, while the desire to give up is in the mind. Sometimes, the two don’t seem to be compatible!

While some people are able to quit and stay off cigarettes for a while, they’re very susceptible to suggestion and are easily tempted when they see some one else smoking. Inhaling the fumes of some one else’s cigarette often triggers a craving for nicotine. At this point, they’re back to square one.

The market for ways to quit smoking  is big. Products range from tablets to nicotine patches and chewing gum. How effective each method  is is debatable because  these remedies do not address the psychological issue. Instead, they try to offer a replacement which doesn’t really solve the problem and is, more often than not, only a temporary measure.

Since smoking is a deep rooted psychological need, it is important to understand the mental state of the smoker. It’s also important to eliminate the craving for nicotine, psychologically. Yes, you have to effectively treat the mind (and the cravings) to really be successful at stopping smoking.

One of the natural ways to quit smoking is through Hypnotherapy. It offers a psychological approach to fight your addiction to smoking. It’s based on sending subliminal commands to the mind to not give in to the addiction. Normally, the smoker is made to sit in a comfortable chair or couch and told to relax. Sometimes, music is played to help the patient get to a suitable mental state.

The hypnotherapy patient is then relaxed into an alternative state of mind and commanded to avoid any psychological dependency by staying away from cigarettes. This form of fighting the addiction can usually be sustained on a long term basis and has been known to be successful.

Another natural way to stop smoking is by checking out Smoke Deter.