WHAT WE TREAT
At Paracelsus Recovery, we don’t adopt one-size-fits-all approach to treating nicotine addictions. While we provide a medically-supervised detoxification period and help you find ways to overcome the withdrawal symptoms, our priority is to treat the root causes of your addiction using an approach rooted in pragmatism.
Nicotine is a highly addictive stimulant found in cigarettes, vapes, chewing tobacco, and other tobacco products. Nicotine addiction, also known as tobacco use disorder, occurs when an individual becomes dependent on nicotine. The addiction is both physical, due to nicotine’s effects on the brain, and psychological, due to habits and cravings. As a result, it can be extremely challenging to quit, even when you are fully aware of all the health risks.
What makes nicotine so addictive is the way it affects the brain’s reward system. Similar to other addictive substances like caffeine, alcohol, or drugs, nicotine stimulates the brain to release dopamine, a chemical that creates a temporary sense of pleasure and relaxation. However, when the feel-good effect wears off, cravings return, leading to a cycle of dependence and reinforcing the habit. Over time, the brain adjusts to nicotine, requiring higher doses to achieve the same effects. This is known as tolerance. At the point when the body relies on nicotine to feel normal and withdrawal symptoms appear when nicotine levels drop, a dependence has formed. The habit of smoking or vaping is then further reinforced when it becomes tied to our daily routines, emotions, or social settings, making quitting even harder.
There are an array of emotional, physical and social root causes of nicotine dependency. For example, you can be genetically predisposed to nicotine addiction or be more likely to develop a dependency if family members smoke or vape. Early exposure to nicotine is a significant risk factor; people who start using nicotine as teenagers are far more likely to develop lifelong addiction because the adolescent brain is more sensitive to nicotine. There are also psychological factors at play; many people smoke or vape as a coping mechanism to manage stress, anxiety, depression, or boredom. Environmental factors such as peer pressure, normalisation of smoking/vaping and the media portrayal of smoking as “cool” also play a part in getting people hooked on nicotine.
Nicotine has a serious impact on physical health. Long-term nicotine use increases the risk of heart disease, lung disease, high blood pressure, and cancer. Even vaping, often considered “safer”, exposes us to harmful chemicals. Nicotine addiction can also worsen mental health issues. Many of us smoke or vape to calm our nerves, but nicotine actually raises stress hormones such as cortisol.
In any case, the relaxing effect is temporary; once nicotine wears off, anxiety returns stronger, leading to a cycle of dependence. Nicotine addiction is also linked to low mood and depression due to the impact of nicotine on dopamine production. Users can struggle to feel pleasure without smoking/vaping: over time, the brain becomes less responsive to natural rewards such as food, hobbies, or socialising and craves a bigger dopamine hit. As nicotine is a stimulant, it can lead to insomnia, restless sleep, and fatigue due to poor sleep quality. Having a nicotine addiction also makes you more likely to develop an addiction to alcohol, caffeine, or drugs.
While some people manage to overcome a nicotine addiction on their own, many more struggle to quit despite their best efforts. Getting professional support significantly increases your chances of successfully quitting. Through our combination of medical, psychological and personal care, we are proud to be the only clinic in the world that addresses co-occurring conditions and every possible root-cause of nicotine addiction. In doing so, we can help you recover in a matter of weeks, rather than years or months.
Bespoke treatment
How we treat nicotine addiction
We can’t tell you exactly what your four-week stay will involve because every person’s experience with nicotine dependency is deeply personal. At Paracelsus Recovery, we understand the complex nature of your relationship with nicotine. Therefore, we do not have a pre-defined treatment path for your patients. Instead, we create a bespoke treatment plan for every individual that targets their unique struggles.
Your days with us are thoughtfully structured to include a range of tailored therapeutic elements designed to help you break free from the cycle addiction and restore your well-being. This personalised blend of therapies is curated to address both the physical dependence and the emotional, psychological, and behavioural aspects of addiction. This includes treating any mental health issues that your nicotine use may be masking. See below for more details.
Our approach considers the whole person: mind, body and soul
We do not adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Instead, we adapt each programme to each client’s unique set of needs. While our approach prioritises cutting-edge modalities and holistic care, it is ultimately those unique needs that guide our work together.
Alongside a carefully-managed withdrawal from nicotine, a central feature of our approach is intensive testing to identify all underlying causes of your nicotine dependency. This information helps shape the specific treatment programme that will most effectively help you understand why you have developed a dependency, and what you can do to put an end to it. Your personalised treatment plan features cutting-edge therapies to address the root causes of your addiction while restoring your psychological, cellular, and biological well-being. To treat nicotine addiction, we incorporate therapies such as Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), hypnotherapy, biofeedback, nutritional therapy, personal training, acupuncture, and art therapy.
Alongside treating the root causes of cannabis addiction, we address its lasting effects, such as the neurological or physical damage caused by substance use. Our treatments typically involve intensive psychotherapy, biochemical restoration, and complementary therapies, all aimed at reducing stress, developing healthier coping mechanisms and supporting long-term recovery.
15+ team members, all dedicated to your health and well-being
We are the only residential nicotine addiction treatment centre in the world to provide a minimum of 15 dedicated professionals to each client.
Guiding your recovery are a team of 15+ world-renowned doctors, therapists and specialists. The around-the-clock treatment they provide includes supervision of your medically-safe withdrawal from nicotine if deemed necessary. A live-in therapist will be a crucial member of your team, who is there to provide you with emotional support 24/7. No matter the unique blend of treatments you receive, they will be delivered with the Swiss medical excellence we are known for.
Comprehensive programmes as unique as you are
Each of our treatment programmes is carefully curated to each client’s specific set of needs. Those needs may be physical and psychological, e.g. if our team identifies nutritional deficiencies or signs of other addictions during the assessment period, your programme would be shaped with these in mind. However, those needs can be practical too, such as when a client needs to work or travel during their stay with us.
While the exact treatments will vary, one constant amongst all of our programmes is the unwavering support of our team of experts. We can provide treatment for nicotine addiction and any co-occurring dependencies and mental health conditions at our residential nicotine addiction treatment centre in Zurich.
FURTHER READING
