Smoking cigarettes is bad for your health and it's very expensive. More and more smokers are trying to quit but quitting is very difficult. Most people who try to quit go right back to it. If you're trying to quit, you may have seen commercials for stop smoking aids and you may have wanted to try one of these. Are these stop smoking aids worth your time and money, however? Can they help you stop smoking once and for all without all the side effects and nicotine withdrawal symptoms? The answer is maybe yes and maybe no. It all depends on how badly you want to quit smoking and how willing you are to change your life to that of a non smoker.

Nicotine Patches

Nicotine patches go right on your skin and give you a continual dose of nicotine so that you don't crave cigarettes. These stop smoking aids may help you quit smoking because you no longer feel the urge to have that nicotine in your system. However, you are still getting nicotine. That means that when you stop using the patches, you're still going to go through nicotine withdrawals, which could lead you to smoke a cigarette to make it stop. However, the patches can help you wean yourself off of nicotine gradually, which could help you quit in the long run.

Nicotine Gum

Nicotine gum is chewed whenever you feel the urge for a cigarette. Instead of smoking, these stop smoking aids give you a little bit of nicotine without the harmful activity of smoking. However, as with the patches, they are still administering nicotine into your system. Therefore, as with the patches, these stop smoking aids should be used to wean yourself off of nicotine gradually.

Prescription Drugs

This is probably the best out of all the stop smoking aids. Some prescription drugs can prevent nicotine withdrawal symptoms altogether. As long as you keep taking the drugs, you won't feel jittery, depressed, you won't gain weight and more. Talk to your doctor about what stop smoking prescription aids are available and the pros and cons of taking each one.

There are many stop smoking aids on the market today. However, most are just quick fixes. They do nothing for the long term urges to smoke. Therefore, it might be best to just quit right now. Throw your pack in the trash and get rid of everything that reminds you of smoking. Get ready for a tough road ahead but you can do it as long as you remain vigilant and strong and you keep reminding yourself of why you want to quit in the first place. If you're not strong enough to quit like this, however, then a stop smoking aid may be the best thing for you.