A new trick for helping the nicotine patch work for you
Most people need some help to kick the habit. The nicotine patch is one option.
"There's pretty good data that it does help people," says Dr. John Swartzberg, who heads the editorial board at the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter.
Swartzberg says the patch doesn't work by itself. You must really want to quit.
A new study suggests something that might increase your chances of being successful. Wear the patch for the last few weeks you're still smoking.
"We have these things called nicotine receptors in our brain," Swartzberg says. "And when we put the patch on, those receptors get filled up, just like they do when we smoke."
So if you're using the patch and still smoking, this study suggests, you may not have the same craving for the cigarette.
"If we wait a couple weeks, do that and then quit smoking, at least this one study that was a pretty good study, that one study suggested that you'll have a higher chance of not taking cigarettes back up."
Dr. Swartzberg says there's one stop smoking product you should not use: the e-cigarette.
These electronic cigarettes claim to be the safe alternative to smoking because there's no tobacco. Even so, there is evidence they may give off cancer-causing chemicals.
For more information
Quit Smoking: Pre-Cessation Patch Doubles Quit Success Rate
E-Cigarettes Pose a Health Hazard, FDA Warns
Smokefree.gov
CDC: Smoking and Tobacco Use
American Cancer Society: Guide to Quit Smoking
"There's pretty good data that it does help people," says Dr. John Swartzberg, who heads the editorial board at the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter.
Swartzberg says the patch doesn't work by itself. You must really want to quit.
A new study suggests something that might increase your chances of being successful. Wear the patch for the last few weeks you're still smoking.
"We have these things called nicotine receptors in our brain," Swartzberg says. "And when we put the patch on, those receptors get filled up, just like they do when we smoke."
So if you're using the patch and still smoking, this study suggests, you may not have the same craving for the cigarette.
"If we wait a couple weeks, do that and then quit smoking, at least this one study that was a pretty good study, that one study suggested that you'll have a higher chance of not taking cigarettes back up."
Dr. Swartzberg says there's one stop smoking product you should not use: the e-cigarette.
These electronic cigarettes claim to be the safe alternative to smoking because there's no tobacco. Even so, there is evidence they may give off cancer-causing chemicals.
For more information
Quit Smoking: Pre-Cessation Patch Doubles Quit Success Rate
E-Cigarettes Pose a Health Hazard, FDA Warns
Smokefree.gov
CDC: Smoking and Tobacco Use
American Cancer Society: Guide to Quit Smoking