Nicotine Replacement Therapy

The Gum

Warning

One of the not necessarily major drawbacks to nicotine gum, but still a potential problem, is replacing one addiction for another. There are a number of people who are no longer addicted to cigarettes but are now addicted to the gum. Prolonged use of the gum could constrict the blood vessels of the mouth and result in gum disease, though some studies refute these findings.

We have heard reports of people chewing the gum for 15 years trying to quit.

Are there any side effects?

Side effects may occur upon using a nicotine gum. Some common effects may include a tingling in the mouth when chewing, mouth ulcers, jaw ache or a headache however, these will subside as you continue to use the gum and should not last for too long.

Make sure that the gum is chewed slowly otherwise you may experience other side effects such as hiccups, coughing, constipation, heartburn, nausea, dizziness, insomnia, stomach pains or vomiting.

These effects can also be remedied by chewing the gum more slowly and resting the gum sufficiently.

There are also side effects caused by too much nicotine in the body, and if you experience any of these, you should go to your doctor immediately. These effects include cold sweats, fainting, a pounding heart and sudden confusion.

The success rate for Nicorette gum is generally not as great as many smokers would like to believe because it just re-introduces nicotine back into the body and does not deal with the underlying psychological addiction.
Rediculously Expensive – it cost’s more to chew the gume than to smoke.
“Does Nicotine Gum Work?” It really depends what you mean by that question.If it means “Will Nicotine Gum Help Me Stop Cigarettes”, then the short answer would be yes. A cigarette is nothing more than a very efficient nicotine delivery system, and a piece of nicotine chewing gum does the same thing, albeit poorly compared to the cigarette.

So assuming you are able to overcome the physical habit of smoking, i.e. lighting the cigarette, holding the cigarette a certain way, keeping your hands busy, distracting you, whatever it is, and the nicotine gum will help you control your cravings.

The problem is that while you may have cut out the more physically dangerous aspects of smoking, the tar, the 4,000 chemicals, the burning smoke entering your lungs, you are just as addicted as you were before, only now you are addicted to nicotine gum.

Remember, nicotine is a VERY ADDICTIVE DRUG, being addicted to it is a disease, and it’s a disease YOU HAVE GOT.

So while nicotine chewing gum may help you stop consuming cigarettes, it will not help you get rid of your nicotine addiction. That’s a battle you will have to face on your own, just as if you had stopped smoking cold turkey.

The sad reality is that the one-year success rate for people who quit smoking tobacco using nicotine gum is, according to long-term studies, less than 10%.

That means that for every 10 people who quit smoking using gum, in less than a year, 9 of them will be back smoking tobacco.

The problem with nicotine gum, and that goes for nicotine patches as well, is that they are a very inefficient way of ingesting nicotine. As dangerous as it is, a cigarette is BY FAR the better nicotine delivery system.

So while you may stop – for a while – smoking cigarettes (or any tobacco) using nicotine gum, as long as you keep feeding your nicotine addiction, you will NEVER BE FREE.

The Patch