Do nicotine replacement products, like the gum or patches, really work?
Yes and no. Nicotine replacement products do work by helping the individual wean himself/herself off of nicotine. This is done by “stepping down” from a higher concentrated gum or patch to a lower concentrated form to an even lower concentrated form until the person no longer craves the nicotine. This method should be used in conjunction with behavior modification. The individual needs to learn how to actually “live” without tobacco. The physical act of automatically reaching for tobacco in certain situations, like when a person first wakes up in the morning or on that morning work break etc., needs to be broken. Triggers like smoking directly after eating or when feeling stress need to be dealt with differently. All behaviors that make a person want to use tobacco need to be replaced with something else like taking a brisk walk, drinking water, deep breathing — anything to keep a person from automatically turning to tobacco. Nicotine replacement used with behavior modification will i
Yes and no. Yes: Nicotine replacement products help the individual slowly get off of nicotine. Each unit of the gum or patch has less and less nicotine until the person no longer craves it. No: All behaviors that make a person want to use tobacco need to be replaced. The individual needs to learn how to actually “live” without tobacco. The physical act of automatically reaching for tobacco in certain situations, such as upon waking up in the morning or on a morning work break, etc., needs to be broken. Triggers like smoking directly after eating or when feeling stress need to be changed to taking a brisk walk, drinking water, deep breathing – anything to keep a person from automatically turning to tobacco.
