What Nicotine Replacement Therapy Methods Are There?

Nicotine Replacement Therapy is one of the many quit smoking methods that available today. It consists of three main types, the patch, gum, and inhaler. Read on to find out more about each!

Patch
The nicotine patch is applied directly to the skin, and contains a pre-measured dosage of nicotine that is absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream, satisfying the body's need for nicotine. It comes in 21, 14, and 7mg varieties, and the intent is to slowly step down from your initial dose (21 or 14mg, depending on how much you smoke) until you no longer need the patch. They are applied generally once every 24 hours. Applying the patch immediately before sleeping supposedly works to prevent cravings upon waking.

Gum
Nicotine gum is chewed periodically throughout the day, and comes in 4mg and 2mg doses, the former being for smokers who smoke over a pack a day (sometimes listed as 25 cigarettes or more). The nicotine is absorbed through the gums and into the bloodstream, and the number of pieces chewed throughout the day is decreased over time.

One downside to the gum is that you need to be religious with your adherence to dosing times or else you decrease its effectiveness.

Inhaler
The inhaler, generally only available by prescription, works to kill your craving for cigarettes by giving you a metered dose of nicotine to keep levels up in your blood. Its prescription only nature and inconvenience generally make it less effective than the above methods, which generally can be taken anywhere.

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At the end of the day, however, you're still trying to cure your nicotine addiction by supplying yourself with nicotine. To find out if this actually works, take a look at my article, does nicotine replacement therapy work for more info. What nicotine replacement therapy methods are there?