I think it's fine to bring up the question, do NRTs work? and to be suspicious, maybe even a little angry, that the pharmeceutical companies are now making money off our addiction. They are related concerns, but not quite the same.
I think studies show pretty convincingly that NRTs HELP, but don't CURE. For people who are worried about becoming addicted to an NRT, it's not that they are addicted to a new substance; they still are addicted to nicotine, just in a different form. NRTs have definite health benefits compared to cigarettes. BUT, for people who have the motivation to quit, the studies have also shown that NRTs help people to wean off nicotine, if used correctly, and in some cases, with more tolerable withdrawal symptoms.
Now, some of the medications, such as buproprion and chantix, do not supply any nicotine, so they do not perpetuate the nicotine addiction; instead they work on the neurotransmitter actions. I haven't reviewed any studies about weaning off them, but from what I have read here and elsewhere, I haven't heard of anyone becoming addicted to those substances, and other than some minor side effects for a few days, most people wean off them fairly easily.
So, as so many of us have said, whatever works to help us quit smoking is what we should do. And it is different for each person. That is one of the things that is so great about this site; there are many ways to learn about when a person decides to do this.
It's interesting, though, that when a controversial topic is raised here, almost inevitably someone gets their feelings hurt. It's been me a few times, so I'm not pointing fingers. I think that has to do with many of us not having the practie of dealing with controversy without running for a cigarette, and that learning to deal with things without a cigarette, here and elsewhere, is part of the process of tuly becoming a non smoker. At times I've been unable to stick in with a thread because the controversial nature of it was too much of a trigger for me. But, I guess I'm getting better at it, because this thread only triggered me a tiny bit ;)
I, too wish for each of us to find the methods that work for us, to accept other people's paths, questions, and answers, and for all of us to be blissfully smokefree for the rest of our lives. I know I'm still working on all of that.
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/22/2007
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 322
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 12,880
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,189.60
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 45 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 19 [B]Seconds:[/B] 27