There are plenty of people around who would like to quit smoking, but seem to have trouble with it. It can be difficult to stop a habit that includes both the addiction to the drug and addiction to other activities, like having a cigarette in your mouth. If you’re having problems with the cold turkey treatment to stop smoking, talk with your doctor and he will be able to suggest some other options. Here are a few of the options that he might discuss with you:

Nicotine Gum

Nicotine gum is a treatment to stop smoking that’s available over the counter, and is just as it sounds, little pieces of gum you chew to deliver a small amount of nicotine to your system. In general, you are instructed to chew for a little while, then hold the wad of gum between your cheek and tongue in order to let the nicotine get into your system. The benefits to this treatment to stop smoking is that you’re satisfying the oral craving that so many cigarette users also suffer from, while you reduce the tobacco in the system. With this any many of the alternative treatments to quit smoking, this will also get you started on letting your lungs heal from all the smoke inhalation you’ve treated yourself to.

The Patch

The nicotine patch is another relatively new way to stop smoking, and can be very effective when used properly. It consists of a small adhesive patch, usually attached to the arm, that delivers a small but constant amount of nicotine to your system. While this doesn’t satisfy oral cravings, it does work consistently throughout the day, and as you wean yourself off nicotine, you can use smaller and smaller patches. There have been doubts as to how well the patch works, but if all other methods have failed, this might be the treatment to stop smoking you need.

Prescription Medication

When nothing seems to work, prescription medicine might be the treatment to stop smoking you need. Drugs like Chantix stimulate nicotine receptors in the body, which fools the body into thinking that it’s been given its fix. Chantix in particular is a new drug, recently released for sale in the United States. Other drugs, like Wellbutrin, reduce nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Alone or combined with nicotine gum or the patch, smokers often kick the habit with greatly reduced symptoms. But any of these three methods can help you kick the habit without the severity of withdrawal that cold turkey promises, so discuss these options with your doctor and commit to improving your health.