The advantage of the patch is that it is easy to use. You change
it once a day, and then you can forget about it.
Some people wear the patches around the clock, but others take them off when
they go to sleep. Some people find that it affects their sleep or their dreams
if they wear the patch when they go to bed. It’s interesting that some people
report having bad dreams, but others have vivid dreams that they love while
wearing the patch!
If you are able to tolerate wearing the patch at night, an advantage of
doing so is that will help with the early morning craves.
The main disadvantage of the patch is that some people find it irritates
their skin. The best way to prevent that is to put the patch on a different
spot every day.
Nicotine gum
Nicotine gum is nice because you can control the dosage. If
you are hit with a craving, you can chew more gum to take care of it.
The biggest mistake that people make when using the gum is that they chew
fewer pieces than the instructions recommend. Your chances of quitting
successfully will increase if you use at least the minimum recommended amount.
You also have to follow the instructions about how to chew the gum, because
it’s not chewed the way regular gum is. You have to chew the nicotine gum for a
little while, then “park” it in your cheek for a while before chewing it again.
Otherwise, you’ll get too much nicotine in your system.
Lozenges
These are the newest of the over-the-counter nicotine
replacement aids. They are like candy. Like nicotine gum, with nicotine
lozenges you can control the dosage.
They appear to have few or no side effects, except that they may not be good
for people who wear dentures.
The inhaler and nasal spray
These are currently available by prescription only. For
people who have good prescription medical coverage plans, it might be cheaper
to use one of the prescription-only products than to use one available
over-the-counter.