Nearly as long as there have been cigarettes, there have been smokers who wanted to quit. Unfortunately, giving up the smoking habit is difficult because nicotine is a highly addictive drug. And the pure habit of smoking–all the ritual that goes with it, including going outside to be with other smokers, pulling out the pack, tapping the pack, extracting a cigarette, holding the cigarette, putting it in your mouth, lighting the cigarette, and puffing away–those very motions and actions become ingrained in a smoker’s behaviors. No wonder smoking is so difficult to stop!

There are many different products that have been created over the years to help smokers quit. Most people are familiar with the nicotine patch. These patches are applied to the skin and left in place for many hours. The nicotine infused on the patch transfers through the skin and enters the bloodstream, delivering a fairly level amount of nicotine for an extended period of time. By replacing the nicotine a smoker would normally receiving from smoking with the nicotine from the patch, some smokers are able to end their smoker habit.

Nicotine gum functions under the same principle, which is to replace nicotine in a person’s body. However, the nicotine is delivered through a piece of gum that the user chews in their mouth. Nicotine lozenges also deliver nicotine orally.

Prescription quit smoking drugs include Zyban (Bupropion) and Chantix (Varenicline). These two drugs work in slightly different ways, but both affect the brain, causing a lessened desire for cigarettes. While effective, these drugs are expensive and have side effects.

Fake cigarettes, including electronic cigarettes, have helped many people to quit smoking. Electronic cigarettes may not be sold as a smoking cessation aid at this time because they typically contain nicotine. If sold as a quit smoking product, the FDA would deem them to be a regulated drug, which would require their approval. However, many people have used them as a way to quit smoking. Time will tell if the FDA or some other government agency further regulates or bans this type of product.

A wide variety of books are available on the subject of quitting smoking. One of the most popular and successful is Allen Carr’s book The Easy Way to Stop Smoking. Over 10 million copies have been sold worldwide, with more being sold every day.

Hypnosis programs, including audio and video hypnosis programs to quit smoking are widely available, in addition to the traditional in-office visits with a hypnotherapist. Hypnosis has been found effective for many people who have been unable to quit with other methods because they are finally dealing with the mental aspects of quitting smoking.

Herbal and homeopathic remedies such as Smoke Away are also available and have been used by many thousands of individuals to quit smoking.

Some smokers choose to use filters on their cigarettes to remove the tar and nicotine from the smoke they inhale. While not completely quitting smoking, these smokers are reducing the harmful chemicals they are inhaling in their smoke, and some find it is easier to quit since they have reduced the amount of addictive nicotine in their system.

Other helpful quit smoking products are available, and it is certain that many more will be developed over time. Several pharmaceutical companies reportedly have been developing nicotine vaccines which would supposedly reduce or eliminate the effects of nicotine on the human brain. It will be interesting to see what new products to quit smoking are developed in the coming years.