The Natural Way to Break Your Smoking Habit

In the first study to explore the effects of food and beverages on the taste of cigarettes, 209 smokers were asked to name items that worsen or enhance cigarettes' taste.

Smokers reported that drinking milk or water, or eating fruits and vegetables, worsened the taste of cigarettes. On the other hand, alcohol, coffee and meat enhanced the taste of cigarettes. These findings could lead to a diet that makes it easier to quit smoking.

Nineteen percent of the smokers said that dairy products worsen the taste of cigarettes, 16 percent said that fruits and vegetables did so, and 14 percent reported the same effect for water and juice. Alcohol enhanced the taste for 44 percent, while 45 percent said the same of caffeinated beverages and 11 percent found the taste was enhanced after eating meat.

Smokers of menthol cigarettes were less likely to say that foods or beverages altered the taste of their cigarettes.

Silver acetate is known to alter the taste of cigarettes, and it has been suggested that it could be used in the form of a gum or a lozenge as part of a treatment to help smokers quit.

Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Vol. 9, No. 4, April 2007: 505-510
Science Blog April 4, 2007

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Dr. Mercola's Comment:

This could be a safer, non-drug approach to stop smoking: consuming a diet richer in fruits, vegetables, water and dairy products. Not only is such a diet better for your health all around, but it will also help your body to more rapidly recover from the damage that smoking is doing to you.

On the other hand, I'm not surprised to learn consuming alcohol and caffeinated beverages such as soft drinks topped the list of foods that enhanced the taste of cigarettes.

Unhealthy habits lead to more unhealthy habits, apparently. When you engage in disease-promoting behaviors they tend to synergize with other unhealthy behaviors so it actually makes the problem much worse.

Fortunately, the converse of this equation is also true. If you improve your health habits they will syngerize to acclerate your journey toward health.

There are also other reasons why it's a good idea to improve your diet when you want to kick the cigarette habit. If you fail to do this, you actually risk making your health worse. I helped my sister stop smoking over 20 years ago and did not understand this fact -- she gained over 100 pounds and still has yet to lose any of it. So even though she has not smoked for 20 years, she has had the challenge of insulin resistance for those 20 years, which has seriously damaged her health.

However, considering all the harm that smoking can do to your health and the health of those you love, your best option remains to quit cold turkey. Doing anything less does almost nothing to reduce your cancer risks.

One of the more effective ways to stop smoking once and for all is to learn the Emotional Freedom Technique, the energy psychology tool used daily in my practice.