Smoking Patches Overview

by Angelina Petterson

Smoking patches are also known as nicotine patches. They belong to the family of quit smoking products called nicotine transdermal treatments. Nicotine patches essentially rely on the ability of the skin to absorb nicotine into the bloodstream.

This helps quitting smokers deal with nicotine cravings through out the day as they are attempting to permanently quit smoking. Other products that belong to the family of nicotine replacement therapies is the nicotine chewing gum and nicotine lozenges as well as nicotine nasal spray.

Nicotine patches are available over the counter in some countries making them easily accessible to the general public. In the United States state or county based quit smoking programs offered by the government or not-for-profit organisation often come with free smoking patches. Free nicotine patches help millions of smokers to stop smoking each year.

The general rules of applying nicotine transdermal treatments are that they are personal medical products which cannot and should not be shared by individuals. To avoid nicotine poisoning they must be kept away from children and pets. The patches may not be used while pregnant just as women are not encouraged to smoke while pregnant. Even breast feeding mothers may also not use nicotine patches without proper guidance from a doctor.

Smoking patches are applied on clean and dry skin which can be the stomach, upper arm or side for a period of between 16 to 24 hours. However one of the nicotine patches side effects is sleeplessness. When this happens patients are advised to remove it and apply a new one in the morning.

To avoid skin irritation and general damage to skin, patches ought not to be applied on the same spot of skin more than once without 1 week intervals. Each day a patch must be applied to a different area of the skin.

These patches used to stop smoking can also have side effects. These vary from individual to individual and can be as follows;

• Sleeplessness
• Nausea
• Diarrhoea
• Headache
• Bad dreams

There are other things to also consider before using nicotine patches. There will be need to consult a doctor should you have any of the following;

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Skin rashes
• High blood pressure
• Kidney or liver condition
• Allergies
• Stomach ulcers
• Thyroid disease
• Irregular heart beats

Success Rate

Smoking patches do not perform any magic in helping smokers quit smoking. They work best when the quitting individual is motivated to stop smoking and has the will power to quit. The psychological and social effects of quitting smoking are not in any way addressed by patches. This is why quit smoking programs must be considered.

Combining nicotine patch usage with quit smoking programs doubles the results and reduces chances of smoking relapse.

Users have reported mixed success rates with patches. The success rate can be as good as 50% when the therapy is well followed and executed. It is however much superior than cold turkey way of stopping smoking.

At the end of 12 weeks of application, it should be possible to be weaned off patches without continuing to smoke. This type pf treatment is not designed to last longer than the 12 weeks. Continued use might led to further health problems including dependency as with nicotine chewing gum addiction.

SITE MAP

script type="text/javascript"> var infolink_pid = 229591; var infolink_wsid = 0;