For anyone who is a committed long term smoker there always comes a time when you think about giving up cigarettes. Sometimes its due to your own ill health, a realization that your not getting any younger or one of your kids pleading with you once again to stop smoking. When these times come around we get a firm resolve and believe that this time we are going to succeed where we have failed so many times before.

Things usually start off well as we believe we have the willpower required to knock our nicotine addiction on the head for good, we throw out our cigarettes and vow to start a new healthy exercise regime and diet. However, usually after a couple of days the cravings start kicking in and we begin to think about buying a new packet of smokes. Its always just going to be one to see how bad it tastes, which it does, but once you've taken your first drag your addicted and enslaved to the nicotine master once again.

What we are all looking for is a simple way to stop smoking that takes all the effort out of the process and that is what is offered by the manufacturers of the stop smoking shot. This stop smoking vaccination uses a combination of two previously well know drugs to block the nicotine receptors in your brain which in theory should result in reduced withdrawal symptoms.

The two important ingredients in the stop smoking shot are motion sickness treatment known as scopolamine and a Atropine which is used as an eye dilating chemical. Both derive from the deadly nightshade which is of course poisonous but both drugs have been used safely for years. Whether injecting them both into your system to help you stop smoking is a good idea is another thing.

These days the stop smoking shot is a one time treatment which will be administered by a doctor but you will have to use a combination of scopolamine patches and oral medication over the next 2 weeks to complete the program. Manufacturers of the stop smoking shot claim that they can get a success rate of user of over 70% which seems incredible compared to the dire results shown by people trying to use willpower alone.

The main problem with the stop smoking shot and the reason I don't recommend it to anyone unless it is absolutely a last resort is the fact that we really don't know the long term consequences of injecting these two substances into the bloodstream. Sure, they have been use individually for many years but using them together as a stop smoking aid is a new techniques that could lead to problems.

What we do know is that the common immediate side effects of this treatment can include confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, dry mouth, sleep problems, and problems urinating. Having said that if you can get it to work for you and it means cutting out cigarettes then the results should be worth risk.

The other problem with the treatment is that it doesn't work on the underlying psychological reasons why you smoke or the habitual nature of your addiction. If you associate smoking with a particular activity such as going out socializing to the pub with friends then you will no doubt feel that something is missing when you partake in these activities in the future. This may account for the fact that the real world results of its use seem to be worse than the 70% claimed by the manufacturers, with one study concluding that the stop smoking shot only worked for around 40% of participants.

If you are looking for help to stop smoking there are other things you should try first before going for your injection. Traditional nicotine replacement therapies and organized support groups play an important part in smoking cessation for many people while Allen Carr's Easy Way To Stop Smoking and the Electronic Cigarette are the two methods which I think are particularly useful. Allen Carr's method basically teaches you the reasons why you smoke and allows you to quickly realise that you don't need cigarettes in your life. People who have used his method boost that they no longer crave cigarettes after stopping.

E cigarettes on the other hand is a new type of nicotine replacement therapy which allows you to continue smoking without the dangerous chemicals in tobacco. The device delivers pure nicotine along with the smoking sensation without the carcinogens in tobacco smoke. It allows you to cut your nicotine down gradually without getting the fear and craving normally associated with smoking cessation.

The stop smoking method you use will probably be person preference at the day and will depend on how desperately you want to quit and how much effort you want to put into it. Just make sure that you save the stop smoking shot as a last resort.