Drug Addiction Treatment Blog

Close to twenty years ago I entered a drug rehab. At the time I was addicted to alcohol and various drugs, including nicotine. I smoked about a pack of cigarettes a day, along with all my drugs and alcohol. After I completed detox and continued to smoke, it was suggested to me to give up the nicotine addiction too. At first I resisted, thinking that if you take this from me, I wil go crazy. I needed some kind of crutch.

Then one day it hit me, why am I getting clean and sober, only to have cigarettes kill me. It kind of defeated the purpose of recovery in my mind. I realized all of the rationals I had were nothing but insane thinking. Some how, I had been restored to sanity and made a decision to give up cigarettes.

At first it was difficult, as was detox when I was in rehab, but it got easier over time. So, one day at a time I continued to be drug, alcohol and nicotine free until I realized the cravings were gone. The obsession to smoke or use had been lifted. It has been 24 years since my last cigarette or drug or drink for that matter.

Recovery can be beyond your wildest dreams.

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Is nicotine addictive? Absolutely. Addiction is best described by compulsive drug seeking and use, regardless of the negative consequences. Tobacco use fits this description perfectly. Of the 35 million people trying to quit each year, less than 7 percent of those who try are able to acheive one year of continual abstinence. Most, relapse within a few days.

What most people do not realize is that the cigarette is a very efficient drug delivery system. By inhaling, the smoker can get nicotine into the brain with every puff. A typical smoker will take 10 puffs over a 5 minute period of time. So, a person that smokes a pack and a half of cigarettes each day, gets approximately 300 hits of nicotine into the brain each day.

Many recovering addicts and alcoholics still smoke and choose to use the rational ” I can’t quit everything at one time”. The thing is, if a person is going to quit drugs and alcohol in an effort to save their life, why continue to smoke which brings you a step closer to death.

Give up your addiction to nicotine the same way you gave up your addicton to drugs and alcohol. Detox, under the care of your physician, and apply the 12 steps to your addiction. It all starts with the first step in admitting you are powerless over nicotine and you r life has become unmanageable.

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