Do Quit Smoking Pills Really Work?

There has always been a search for a magical pill that will painlessly cure us of some ill. Sometimes these are pills to make us lose weight, or grow hair, or even enhance virility. A pill that would help us quit an addiction like smoking seems too good to be true. However, there are several pills currently on the market that make this claim.

The pills fall into two broad categories: prescription and non-prescription.

There are currently two forms of prescription pills available. One affects the part of the brain that induces a pleasure response. Taking this pill removes the ‘reward’ aspect of lighting up. A smoker will get less of a behavioral buzz from cigarettes. You would need to go through a doctor to get this type of stop smoking pill.

The other type of prescription pill affects serotonin levels in the brain. This does not function the same as the other type. Instead, this pill is designed to help curb the withdraw symptoms that occur when quitting smoking. These particular pills operate exactly the same as some anti-depressants.

Both types of prescription pills require you to seek some type of counseling in order to fully quit smoking. This is because the chemical aspect is only one small part of the addiction. There are social and behavioral aspects as well. Many people find available therapies help greatly in reducing and stopping smoking.

Remember that, as with all medications, both types of stop smoking pills may have side effects. Make sure that you know what they may be before you decide to go this route.

The second very broad and unregulated category of stop smoking pills are herbal pills. Like all herbal pills, these are not currently regulated by the government. Most herbal ‘supplements’, as they are officially called, have not gone through rigorous testing or studies. Some are known to cause damage to your body as well, so be careful and do your research.

Herbal stop smoking pills operate on several different premises, some of them dubious in nature. However, there is validity to a few of the pills. Ingesting caffeine or other stimulants can help some people quit smoking. Other pills contain different extracts that directly affect the serotonin in the brain. Again, though, do your research first.

There is a possibility that herbal pills may interact with prescription medications. Ask your doctor to check first before you begin taking a supplement to be sure.

So do these pills work? The simple answer is sometimes.

The success rates for both prescription and herbal pills are far from what you would hope. A large percentage of smokers who have quit head back to cigarettes. There is strong evidence that counseling and support groups increase the odds of quitting for good, but there is no magic pill just yet.