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What are quit smoking patches? Where and how you can get them for free? Are they effective to help you stop smoking? As well we know that there are a lot of strategies and methods to help smokers quit smoking. Some studies found that smokers who have a program to stop smoking are more likely to succeed when they also use /involve long acting & immediate-delivery ‘Nicotine-Replacement Therapies’ (NRT). Before continuing, you may also be interested to know more about benefits of quitting smoking timeline!
NRT includes nicotine sprays, nicotine inhalers, nicotine lozenges, nicotine patches, and nicotine gum. NTR is a kind of therapy that works by providing nicotine for smokers but without using tobacco, which then will help for smokers to manage their nicotine withdrawal. In other words, the use of NRT will help reduce the urge to smoke, so thus will be helpful to encourage your success rate of a quitting smoking program. (Read also the previous post about effects of secondhand smoke)!
How to get the most effective result from NRT?
The combination of nicotine lozenges and nicotine patches are more effective than when you only use either product alone -- according to a study published on Archives of General Psychiatry. Furthermore, the use of Zyban (a smoking-cessation drug) also should be combined with nicotine lozenges for better result.
In this study, the goal is to find the answer of which is the most effective method to help smoker to quit smoking. Some major methods that were compared are; combination between nicotine lozenges & Zyban, the use of nicotine patches alone, the use of Zyban alone, and combination of nicotine patches & lozenges.
The quitting smoking timeline that is analyzed in this study include; 1 week after the quit date, 8 weeks after quit date, and 6 months after quick date. And to confirm that smokers were still smoking or not in the end of research, the CO volume level of participants are measured.
After 6 months, the results of this study include:
- The success rate of using Zyban plus nicotine lozenges, nicotine lozenges alone, Zyban alone, nicotine patches alone was similar -- around ‘32 - 42’ percent.
- Some participants that only got counseling without intervention of active medical also succeed to stop smoking -- but only 22 percent of them who had stopped smoking.
- And 40 percent of participants who took the combination of nicotine lozenges and patches were success to quit smoking.
***These results indicate that the combination of nicotine patches and lozenges is the most effective way!
When it comes to quit smoking with a combination of aids -- always remember that the one of them feels right to you is the most effective combination. The following are other helpful guidelines:
- If you have taken a particular cessation aid (like nicotine patches alone) but it didn’t work, for your next attempt you may need to try another.
- If the end of your previous attempts is caused by intense cravings that you cannot control, discuss more with a doctor to consider a combination of other therapies. Your doctor may recommend taking certain NRT with certain helpful drugs to eliminate your cravings.
- If you are worried or even experiencing certain side effects of quitting smoking (like weight gain), consult more with your doctor! She/he will give more advices to reduce or eliminate these side effects.
- Consult with a tobacco treatment specialist if necessary for more counseling! The use of nicotine-replacement therapies in young adults (under the age of 18) should be discussed first with a doctor. Moreover, there are also some types of medications that can interfere with nicotine patches. So once again to keep safe, discuss first with a doctor!
To encourage the effectiveness of NRT, don’t forget also to combine with some positive behavioral therapies, and get also lots of support for the environment (such as your family, friend or even your neighborhood if necessary -- tell them that you seriously want to quit smoking)!
How to get free quit smoking patches?
Once again there are now more options than ever if you seriously want to quit smoking. For smokers who cannot afford the products of NRT (such as nicotine patches), they can get these products for free from a local health department.
Specially trained counselors are now available in every state -- you can contact them via a provided hotline (“1-800-QUIT NOW” -- it is ‘a toll-free telephone number’) to get free assistance and more in-depth information about nicotine-replacement products.
This program was sponsored & developed by the states and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Furthermore, it can connect smokers (regardless of the economic status, ethnicity or race, and geographic location) to certain cessation services or other helpful resources in their local area.
Below is a helpful video about "1-800-QUIT NOW" from smokefree.gov:
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Reference: WebMD and smokefree.gov
