NICOTINE PATCHES

If you are considering using a nicotine patch, gum, lozenge or any other type of nicotine replacement therapy, you must read this article before you begin. 

The nicotine patch was first invented in 1984 and introduced to the marketplace in 1992.  Nicotine patches were all the rave convincing smokers that there was a new breakthrough technology that was going to help them quit smoking once and for all.  The idea behind the nicotine patch was that you could provide nicotine to a smoker (the substance that they were addicted to) and relieve those awful withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting smoking.

Smokers rushed to their doctors to get a prescription for this new wonder drug and sales of the nicotine patch in 1992 reached 900 million dollars.   Today global sales of nicotine replacement therapies (gum, lozenges, patches, etc.) exceeded 2.4 billion dollars in 2011.

There is no doubt that this technology has become a big money maker for pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and retail pharmacies that sell the products.  But does it do anything to help smokers quit the terrible addiction to nicotine?

I first tried the nicotine patch in 1996 when prescriptions were no longer needed and you could buy the patches at any over the counter pharmacy.  On day 1 I was so excited to have quit smoking I put the patch on and celebrated my victory throughout the day.  I had thoughts of smoking all day but knew that this magic patch would keep me from wanting a cigarette.  On day 2, after making it almost 24 hours without a cigarette, I broke down and bought a pack.  My quit lasted less than one day on the nicotine patch.  Unfortunately the story is the same for may want to be ex smokers who have attempted using nicotine replacement to quit smoking.

The fact is that when you quit smoking you are attempting to end your addiction to nicotine.  Placing the drug you are trying to quit into your body makes no sense at all, and if the FDA truly cared about helping people quit smoking, they would never have approved such a drug as a smoking cessation product.  If you were trying to quit drinking alcohol because you were a raging alcoholic, would it make sense to put an IV drip of Whiskey in your body?   Of course not, and it makes no sense to pump nicotine into your body when you are trying to quit your addiction to nicotine.

Up until the introduction of the nicotine patch, smoking was on a steady decline in the United States dropping from a high of 45% of the population down to about 20% in the early 1990's.  20 years after the introduction of the nicotine patch, 20% of the population still smokes.  Do you see the correlation?

Look, everyone is making money off the patch.  Doctors, pharmacies, drug companies, and even the governments by reaping tax dollars.  They are all big proponents of this medical marvel because  they are getting rich while they watch you struggle to give up smoking.

This information is important, it is hard enough to quit smoking without everyone working against you to keep you hooked on a drug.  The success rate for nicotine replacement therapy is likely around 2%.  That means the failure rate is 98%.  There have been hundreds of studies published by the pharmaceutical industry showing success rates as high as 50% using nicotine replacement therapy.  Keep in mind, this is all part of the machine that is trying to keep you hooked on cigarettes.

Do not believe the hype.  Do not let your smoker brain get tricked into thinking that this makes sense, that placing nicotine in your body will help you quit nicotine.  Take a step back and think logically about what they are trying to tell you.  If you want to quit smoking, you need to quit nicotine, and it only takes 72 hours (3 days) to remove the nicotine from your body.  Don't be foolish enough to place it back in your body.

Check out our new Quit Smoking forum!!! You can talk with others trying to quit smoking. Great place for support or to give some support to new quitters.

http://quitsmokingwithoutpain.blogspot.com/p/quit-smoking-forum.html

Good luck on your journey to quit smoking forever. 

SOURCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine_patch

http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9301280157/sales-spark-may-be-out-nicotine-patches

http://blog.euromonitor.com/2012/11/quitting-time-prospects-for-nicotine-replacement-therapy-nrt-smoking-cessation-aids.html

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/