Newbies,
If you have a high level of nicotine dependency, you may be interested in using some medical products that can help ease withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Using a product to help you quit is a personal decision, so here’s some information that may help you out.
What’s important for you to realize is that these products will NOT make you quit. Only YOU can make yourself quit, and medical products may help you stay smoke-free. Different NRTs help you in different ways so if you use an NRT, make sure you know what it’s going to do for you.
Medical treatments for nicotine addiction (NRTs)
There are several effective and easy-to-use medical treatments that you can buy from your local pharmacy. You do not have to get a prescription from your doctor to buy these products. They’re called “Nicotine Replacement Therapies” (NRTs). If used properly, NRTs help ease withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
The most common NRTs are known as: “the patch, “nicotine gum”, “nicotine inhalers” and "nicotine lozenges".
The biggest mistake that people make is that they buy an NRT and think that the NRT will make them quit. Many people also think that if they use an NRT, they won’t have cravings or withdrawal symptoms.
This is incorrect. Only you can make yourself quit, and you do this by being prepared and by following a carefully thought out quit program - like you’re doing now. To put it simply, NRTs ease symptoms of withdrawal by putting controlled amounts of nicotine into your blood stream. This helps ease cravings because although you are getting a “nicotine fix” through the NRT, you are not getting the nicotine from a cigarette. Most medical professionals agree that NRTs can really help most smokers, but using them is a personal choice.
Ashley, Health Educator
