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What is the point of nicotine patches? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 5 months ago by turnerpike20@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I don't get it. It's kinda like you got to want to quit but at the same time yeah quitting is already hard for me. But I'm supposed to put it on me and somehow I get a form of nicotine without smoking. It's like how am I supposed to get used to it. I will even take the patch off try to save it for later just so I can have a cigarette. But yeah I think taking it off might actually ruin it. I read the instructions a little bit but yeah the whole nicotine patches last 24 hours and you shouldn't put it on more than 24 hours. So I really don't know if nicotine patches do anything especially since I enjoy smoking.

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[–] Barbarian@sh.itjust.works 34 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

There's two separate addictions going on with smoking: habit and chemical. What patches, nicotine gum, etc are trying to help people do is tackle them separately.

This means you can focus on getting out of the habit of lighting up after a coffee, or after a meal, or whatever triggers you had, while delaying the chemical withdrawal which seriously messes with your head until later. Tackling the two seperately is easier for many people.

With that said, patches don't work for everyone, and I hope you find the cessation aid (if any) that works for you. Quitting smoking is an absolute bitch.

For me personally, the most helpful aid was nicotine gum, and then swapping out the nicotine gum for normal gum once I was confident I'd kicked the habit part and could focus on the chemical withdrawal.