BC Living
How to Support BC Wineries Now
Embark on Culinary Adventures: 5 Must-Try Solo Dining Experiences Around BC
You Gotta Try this in April 2024
4 Tips on Balancing a Nutritious Diet with a Side of Indulgence
Choosing Connection: A BC Family Day Pledge to Prioritize Presence Over Plans
Embracing Plant-Based Living this Veganuary and Beyond
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
7 BC Retreats Where Solo Travellers Can Find Inner Peace and Wellness
Protected: Spring into Fun in Kamloops: The Best Events in the City
Travel Light, Travel Right: Minimalist Packing Tips for Solo Explorers
Melodies and Museums: Solo-Friendly Entertainment for the Independent Traveller
Arts Club Theatre Company Celebrates 60 Years
Films and TV Series that Inspire Solo Travel
8 Gadgets and Gear for Your Solo Adventures
A Solo Traveller’s Guide to Souvenir Hunting in BC
Sḵwálwen Botanicals – Changing the Face of Skincare
Non-prescription solutions help reduce nicotine cravings so you can quit smoking
A nicotine replacement inhaler can help you quit smoking
Smokers who’ve resolved to kick their tobacco habit this year may want to consider using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products to help them achieve their goal. These non-prescription products, available in patch, gum, lozenge or inhaler form, reduce nicotine cravings, potentially increasing the chances of quitting.
NRT products help treat tobacco dependence by acting as substitutes for the nicotine that would be inhaled through smoking, thereby reducing withdrawal symptoms. These products work best when used as part of a comprehensive smoking cessation program.
The nicotine patch, which can be worn on the skin for 24 hours at a time or removed at bedtime, works by slowly releasing about the same amount of nicotine a smoker would normally inhale in a day.
Nicotine gum can be chewed whenever a person craves nicotine. Smokers are instructed to chew once or twice, and then rest the gum between their cheek and gums for about a minute and then repeat. Nicotine lozenges also allow smokers to receive nicotine when needed.
Inhalers are another nicotine-delivery system, involving a similar hand-to-mouth ritual as smoking.
Nicotine replacement spray by Nicorette. (IMAGE: Flickr / easylocum)
Common side effects of NRT include nausea, headaches, light-headedness, sweating, trouble sleeping, stomach problems and vivid dreams. Some patch users experience mild itching, burning and tingling at first, while those who use gum or lozenges might have increased salivation or bleeding gums. The inhaler can lead to short-term irritation of the mouth or throat, and coughing.
Nicotine is a drug that can have implications for people who are under age 18, pregnant or breastfeeding, or who are living with specific health conditions, which is why anyone contemplating NRT should first consult their doctor.
Originally published in Wellness Matters, Canada Wide Media’s quarterly newsletter on health and wellness.