The Medicine and the Principles of

Nicotine Addiction

Our Stop Smoking Program works at the molecular level to block the nerve impulses that nicotine withdrawal creates, and thereby RELIEVES YOUR PHYSICAL WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS.

The medicines are FDA Approved for various methods that do not include smoking cessation and have been used for over 100 years in anesthesia prior to surgery, testing of the eyes, for prevention of nausea, and poison antidotes. The medicines are ATROPINE and SCOPOLAMINE. They are members of a family of drugs called anticholinergics - which block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine- the main mediator of nicotine addiction.

Nicotine mediates its effect on the pleasure center of the brain through the actions of acetylcholine. Acetylcholine also facilitates certain short term memory functions between the pleasure center of the brain and higher cortical function (i.e. without acetylcholine you would not remember what it was that gave you pleasure). The main mediators of pleasure in the brain (the primitive midbrain) are dopamine and opioid (endorphin). Nicotine, through the stimulation of acetylcholine, effects an increase in dopamine and naturally occurring opioid in the midbrain. This increase in midbrain neurochemicals, which give subjects the sensation of euphoria and pleasure, is the main principle behind primary reward and the initiation and repeated use of addictive drugs. All drugs of addiction, including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol,..., and nicotine have the ability to cause an increase in midbrain dopamine and/or opioids. Nicotine-which may explain why it is so darn addictive- also effects an increase in GABA (relaxation), Glutamate (environmental triggers) and Seratonin (euphoria) in the brain and the subsequent secretion of adrenalin (attention and energy) from the adrenal gland. The sudden increase in these chemicals explain the transient sensations of relaxation, happiness and increased energy seen with nicotine use.

The neurobiological systems that lead to hunger, pleasure and satisfaction are normal parts of any animal's experience. In fact these systems are so primitive that they have remained relatively unaltered through evolution. When we study pleasure, behavior and addiction we can study them in rats knowing that our experimental findings will hold true in humans.

Satisfaction and pleasure serve to reinforce behavior that leads to the survival of the organism. Hunger and craving as we understand them demonstrate a lack of that which we need in order to survive. To illustrate this basic point, the lack of food causes the sensation of hunger while eating creates pleasure. This is a central issue to obesity, depression and the overuse of "comfort food" in our society. Sexual activity and mating rituals illustrate the chemical nature of hunger and satisfaction again. When we hunt for food or the object of our affection or compete against our peers our attention and focus typically increases. During the moments that lead up to the ultimate reward or satisfaction of achievement, dopamine and adrenalin are doing their work on our brain. If we achieve, we are often rewarded with "a little squirt" of opioid to help us remember what behavior leads to this ultimate level of satisfaction. Without the hunger, craving and "need" for food and human emotional and physical contact and the satisfaction and orgasm which may follow you could argue that animals would no longer eat or have sex and then we would cease to exist. These systems of hunger and satisfaction, as they are mediated by the neurochemicals, dopamine and opioid, are  essential to our survival and have stood the test of millions of years of evolution or grand intervention. This system is perfect; it is so perfect that it can be abused so perfectly. If there were a substance or substances that could go directly to the brain and cause an increase in the neurochemicals of pleasure, focus and energy while at the same time calm us down and make us feel powerful do you think that you could put it in a package and sell it for millions of dollars? What would you do if you could package and legally sell such a substance that speaks directly to the core of our primitive existence and make tons of money selling it and then one day you discovered that that you were killing millions of people in the process; that you were responsible for more deaths than all those that ever died in all the wars put together for the entire existence of mankind. Do you think you would be motivated to admit that you made a mistake in doing so and stop doing it? Or, would you instead hire a bunch of lawyers and pay off a bunch of politicians and run expensive ad campaigns to keep the public off balance and misinformed? Would you try to hide the truth of what you know in order to protect your financial interests?

SORRY JUST HAD TO GET THAT OFF OF OUR CHESTS, now back to the science....

In essence this is what addiction, and smoking, is all about. This is what separates heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine and alcohol from the dirt on the ground, the flowers in your garden or the leaves on the trees. Drugs of addiction are randomly occurring substances in our environment that just happen to have the ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier when they are injected, snorted or smoked and cause an increase in dopamine, opioids and other brain-active substances that fool us into thinking that we have actually achieved something. They are a lie, and a sorry excuse and what is even more ironic is that once a person becomes addicted they no longer use the substance to achieve pleasure they are only using the substance to avoid withdrawal symptoms. There is no longer pleasure, just a halting of the misery that comes with not using; a very false sense of satisfaction. And, then you are stuck. And, even if you can get over the nicotine withdrawal, the memory of the drug and the associated pleasure will always be there. Every time you feel stressed, unloved, depressed, anxious or tired you will have only a few choices: a) use the drug and get hooked again, b) take a few deep breathes and calm yourself down, c) go for a run and get your chemicals up, d) talk to a friend or  e) get some human contact etc etc. One of these choices is easy and takes little to no effort the other four take some effort or involve another human being. Satisfaction may be delayed with four of the choices and with one, temporary satisfaction can be had with only the flick of a lighter or strike of a match.

SO, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU AND HOW CAN OUR MEDICATIONS AND OUR TREATMENT PROGRAM HELP YOU?

First, anyone that tells you that they can give you this treatment or that treatment and that they will make you a non-smoker or chewer is either lying to you or just doesn't get it. Nobody should ever promise you that they are going to make you a non-smoker with any external product or treatment. In fact, we do not do that. What we do sell is a treatment that will help you "get over your nicotine withdrawal symptoms". We will drastically if not completely eliminate your withdrawal symptoms (95% of the people we treat with our anticholinergic medications report very significant symptom relief). We will open the door and we can drastically improve your chances of quitting. If you are not ready to quit, then we do not recommend that you go through our anticholinergic injection program. We do recommend that, if you are not ready and determined to be a non-smoker, you enroll in our weekly education and preparation course and consider the anticholinergic program at a later date.  

Acetylcholine function in the brain is complex and it is difficult if not impossible to fully explain all of the actions of our medications; the acetylcholine blockers otherwise known as anticholinergics. Anticholinergics function in two ways; first, they block impulses from the pleasure center of the brain to higher cerebral functions of memory; in essence, while you are on the medications you no longer think about cigarettes because your brain does not remember the link between pleasure and the behavior or the substance that got you there. It is not uncommon to hear people say that they also loose their appetite and have no desire for alcohol while on our mediations. Alcohol and food use the same pathways of hunger, craving and pleasure that drugs of addiction use. Second, we believe that while our medications block acetylcholine pathways between the pleasure center and higher cortical function, they actually stimulate acetylcholine binding on nicotine receptors. Thus, this reduces withdrawal symptoms while you are not smoking.  Our experience is substantiated by several animal studies that have demonstrated a decrease in drug seeking behavior by addicted rats when given doses of our anticholinergic medications. During the two weeks that you are on our medications, your brain chemistry is able to return to normal and you can start the second stage of quitting; learning how to deal with nicotine fantasies and learning how to fill your life up with behavior that may lead to natural reward and satisfaction without using drugs.

At this point in the process, FREELIFE really shines. We have developed a program that will not only get you over the 2-3 week period of intense withdrawal, but will support you in the coming weeks and months. To find out more about the full breadth of our program please read THE TREATMENT.