Nicotine Replacement (NRT)

Does Nicotine Replacement Therapy Work?

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is a tried and tested way of stopping smoking. You can get it from pharmacies, and large shops like supermarkets. Simply, it is nicotine that you can put into your body in a safe way. The problem with tobacco in pipes, cigarettes and rolling baccy is that to get the nicotine you have to smoke all the thousands of other chemicals

Many smokers "crave" nicotine when they stop or cut down cigarettes. Nicotine is not the substance in tobacco that worries doctors and experts. Nicotine has been said to be one of the safest drugs on the pharmacy shelf! It is the other chemicals in smoke that do the damage.

Nicotine really does help control urges to smoke. And once your cravings are more under control, your willpower and focus can then work better to help you.

Unlike tobacco, nicotine is regulated as a medicine, which means that its sale, availability and instructions for use are much more guarded than tobacco! The leaflets in NRT can put people off using it because they are full of cautions. But it is good, it works and is safe for smokers. There are very few smokers indeed who would not be able to use NRT.

If you use NRT to stop and no other help, your chances of quitting are more or less doubled (compared to just using will power). Although the instructions give timescales for use, you can use NRT for as long as you like. It is much much much better than smoking.

There are various kinds of NRT- some are better known than others:

• Patches
• Gum
• Inhalator
• Lozenges
• Microtabs
• Nasal Spray

Note: there are some products said to contain nicotine that are sold in shops or pharmacies that are not proper nicotine replacement products. This is no real evidence for how and whether they work and will probably cost you a lot but give you little. These include gel that you rub on your hands and electronic cigarettes.