Ted's Remedies
Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "Dear Cozette: Any supplements that will calm the nerves and anxiety would do. While stopping addiction might seen to be difficult, reducing anxiety would be a more practical approach.Certain aromatherapy that calms the nerves or deadens anxiety are lavender oils and narcissus oils. Narcissus oils are power stuff and they do reduce anxiety but should be used sparingly, if too much it does cause sleepiness. For me it helps a lot with both depression and anxiety. I just smell the aroma and it just goes right through the brain since the nose and the brain are quite close to each other. The emotion centers and the smell center are very closely related and this is why it had such a powerful effect. For most people I think, lavender oil should be more than enough. Of course if it doesn't work that well, a more powerful narcissus oil would have a better chance.
The addiction to cigarettes is due to the nicotine, but what is interesting is the chemical similarity with only one oxygen molecule less, which is nicotinic acid or also goes by another name called niacinamide, which is vitamin B3. Therefore taking some vitamin B complex plus maybe 100 mg of niacinamide supplements more may displace the nicotine due to chemical similarities. The vitamin B3 if taken at larger than average dose do have the tendency to reduce anxiety and hence, possible addiction to nicotine.
To test whether it works for you is to take them when you have this addiction. It only takes three days to stop the habit. If you get over this hump period, by taking plenty of niacinamide and vitamin B3 for at least 5 days, that should be enough to know it works for you or not. If that is not enough, then try to freshen the room with lavender and narcissus oil during the cigarette deprivation period of about 3 days.
In fact, if there was a 3 day stop smoking clinic, I think this would stop a lot of people from addiction. The issue is simple, once it is over the hump period, the addiction no longer exists. Basically the 3 day stop smoking clinic works like this: a group of people without cigarettes sit in a room and do anything they like, but there is no cigarettes handy. By putting a lease between you and the cigarettes for at least 3 days, the addiction in theory would stop. Of course, it would mean a solitary confinement from the cigarettes for three days would be worth it!"
(Harwich, Massachusetts, United States)
07/13/2012
Actually, smoking is a form of pica. The medical community has completely missed the boat on this because of the rigid (and quite stupid) definition of pica which excludes inhalation as a transport mechanism for nutrients.
The point being this--- IF smoking was looked at from this perspective, as being pica, the obvious question would arise, `What nutrient is the smoker deficient in?'
Nicotine, when it is oxidized, becomes nicotinic acid or vitamin B-3. This fact is actually the achilles heel of the whole `smoking treatment' scam. But this `hard' fact is known by any chemist and biochemist. For example, the biochemist David Bender states this fact in his textbook Nutritional Biochemistry of the Vitamins pg. 200. But it gets comical after this.
The origin of the name niacin was due to this uncomfortable fact that nicotine becomes nicotinic acid and Bender goes on to say that there was a distinct purpose in renaming nicotinic acid to niacin. "It was felt nicotinic acid was not a suitable name for a substance that was to be added to foods, both because of its phonetic and chemical relationship to nicotine."
But nicotinic acid is not what the smoker is deficient in. It is only one piece to a two-piece puzzle. The reason is this... nicotinic acid is THE master chelator. In other words, in a biological system it is never found by itself but always attached to another biological marker ... whether a nucleoside or mineral.
There is something else that is in tobacco that nicotine is adhering to. This other element is what the smoker is deficient in. When this element is replaced through diet, rather than tobacco, a remarkable thing occurs... The desire, the craving to smoke completely vanishes. These facts are all demonstrated in the book, You are not Addicted to Cigarette Smoking You are Starving: How the Magic Mineral Prevents the Desire to Smoke.
(Minneapolis, Mn)
12/21/2012
This other element is what the smoker is deficient in. When this element is replaced through diet, rather than tobacco, a remarkable thing occurs... The desire, the craving to smoke completely vanishes.
Soooooo whats the other element? or is this one of those "buy the book and find out" kind of stories??
(Santa Barbara, Ca)
05/05/2013
★★★★★
I owe Earth Clinic a huge thanks for the posting about smoking being a form of pica. I went looking for the book mentioned, and somewhere found that the subject of it was a silicon deficiency, paired with B3. I had smoked for a long time, tried to use natural cigarettes exclusively (how natural are they, one has to wonder), but with some stress in my life my daily use, while still minimal, was taking a toll on my body. I believed myself to be mostly psychologically addicted but something about the pica concept rang true. After reading about these two deficiencies, I remembered that the herb Horsetail is rich in silicon/silica, and I had a ten year old bottle of it buried in a box. I took a good multi B ('cause as far as I know taking large amounts of a single B can throw one out of balance over time) for the niacinamide. For the psychological aspect I reminded myself that cigarette smoking never ever made anything better for me. Not really. It just gave me the sense that I was doing 'something' when I experienced stress. It seemed like my brain was trying to regulate itself out of a sense of helplessness. My 'doing something' or taking action would now be trying the Horsetail and the B vitamins. The herb and B combination absolutely works for me. I do seem to need to use it once/day. If I have any experience of interest in a cigarette I either put my attention on something else, or take the supplements, and it has worked every time. I had almost no cravings whatsoever, going from 5/day to only 2 (I mean 2 total, not 2/day) over the first two weeks, and then to zero. I should say also, that even though most people talk about what a struggle it is to quit, I consistently imagined it being easy for me. I used up my willpower for these things long ago, and I need to have underlying needs addressed so I don't have to rely on mind over impulse as it's very draining. Even though I had little advance evidence that it could be easy, I still stuck to this 'vision' for myself. The relief is enormous, so many thanks for this information - it was the missing piece!!
Shabda Girl: Thanks for your success post. If I might add two herbs, among others, that should help restore energy (smoking shrinks the adrenal glands) AND reduce stress ---Eleuthero Root or Siberian Ginseng and Ashwaganda. These can be used daily and I would rotate from one herb to the next on like a weekly basis. Added to a good breakfast and cup of good coffee, this should ensure your performance thru the day. Kinda like a 5hr energy day.
(Santa Barbara, Ca)
05/06/2013
Timh, Thanks for the suggestion of Ginseng and Ashwaghanda. I have used the latter before but forgot about it. I think they're both adaptogenic, and general tonics. I had added in Dong Quai as well, and daily transdermal magnesium - fantastic for rebuilding some depletions. Transdermal magnesium has been amazing in the past, but likewise I had forgotten how good it is. Weird how stress can overtake one's point of view and start to seem 'normal'. I so appreciate your suggestions!
(Ohio, Usa)
05/28/2014
Niacin worked for me. I fell back in to the trap but I was free from cigarettes and had no desire for them for 3 months. Stress tricked me back in to the trap. Anyway, I have heard that coffee has a toxic effect during the initial withdrawal from cigarettes and thus tea is preferred. This was in a Natural Remedy book by Stein, I believe. Any thoughts, experiences with this?
(Rock Hill, Sc)
12/31/2017
Shabda Girl, your post and info were the most helpful I've read. Connecting "doing something" when feeling stressed and changing what you "do" was invaluable to me. Thank you very much.
Vitamin C
★★★★★
Maybe you could try it and report back here?
