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Typically, when people speak about quitting smoking, the suggestion or idea that gains more ground is cold turkey over trying to slowly cut back on nicotine intake. But there’s a reason why cold turkey has been proven majorly unsuccessful in most cases, having a success rate of only 10%. The reasoning is that withdrawal is painful and uncomfortable no matter what. It takes willpower to make it through the physical withdrawal, so the longer you draw out the withdrawal period, the more willpower it will take to keep steady.
That's not to say that some people don't have success with
cold turkey, but due to withdrawal, and susceptibility to triggers, the
likelihood of relapse is really high, and the process ultimately becomes more
painful and testing than slowly cutting back on nicotine intake and nicotine
replacement therapy. This is why other quitting methods are generally preferred
over cold turkey, including vaping, nicotine patch, Nicorette spray, etc.
While many may tell you cold turkey is better, there are
hundreds of government-funded researches that show that NRT is effective when
used correctly. NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) is only successful when you
have a plan in place, and you stick to it. In fact, you have an overall 50%
higher chance of quitting for life when using NRT as directed.
In this blog, we will discuss the effectiveness of different
nicotine replacement methods along with the one that has the highest success rate
i.e. vaping, so you can decide for yourself which method you would want to
choose for yourself.
Vaping
Vaping is considered one of the most successful smoking
cessation tools among all quitting methods and tools. It reduces the harm of
cigarettes by 90% as per the UK health authorities, and significantly improves
your health and quality of life – personal hygiene, oral hygiene, active
lifestyle etc. Vaping entails the use of e-liquids, containing nicotine, PG,
VG, and flavour concentrates, along with an electronic device that vapourises
the e-liquid and turns it into vapour to deliver nicotine to your system.
Vaping also helps you curb your nicotine intake by providing
a lot of customization options with respect to the nicotine strength in
e-liquids. E-liquids come in a variety of range, flavour and potency options.
You can also find those that have no nicotine. The purpose of diversifying the
e-liquid range is to allow users to curb or quit nicotine. This is why it is
considered to be the most favourable way to quit cigarettes.
Vaping doesn’t pose any serious health complications, but
common side effects include nicotine overdose (if you vape more nicotine than
your tolerance level,) PG allergic reactions like sore throat and coughing, and
vaper’s tongue (desensitization of taste buds for a short period)
Nicotine Patches
Smokers are addicted to Nicotine and going off it suddenly
with cause withdrawal. So tapering smokers off nicotine more slowly will be
less stressful on the body and help ease withdrawal. Using nicotine patches is
another handy way to replace smoking and nicotine patches come in two types –
those that are put on the gum and those that are put on the skin. Patches are
designed to give slow release. A patch holds the nicotine in direct contact
with your skin or mouth for a longer time and slower absorption that is more
indirect.
It is important to note that transdermal patches – those
applied on the skin – should not be cut unless it is specified that they can be
halved
Transdermal patches largely come in two types:
Matrix patches –
Nicotine is contained in a matrix (or gel) and its rate of release is
controlled by the properties of the gel. Cutting these patches will not affect
how quickly the dose of the drug is absorbed.
Reservoir patches
– Nicotine is contained in a reservoir and its rate of release is controlled by
the membrane between the reservoir and the skin. Cutting these patches can
cause “dose dumping” where a large proportion of the dose is absorbed all at
once.
Common side effects of nicotine patches include itchiness,
soreness and nausea. Wearing a fresh patch late at night may affect sleep,
hence it is recommended to use them during the day. The recommended patterns
for wearing a patch, in order to curb your nicotine intake is 21mg > 14mg
> 7mg
Nicorette Spray
Nicorette pray is a combination of nicotine and
water-soluble contents that is sprayed in the mouth. It is costly as compared
to other NRTs and has a higher absorption rate. It is alcohol based and can be
triggering for people with drinking problems or alcohol addiction. It may also
damage the gum because it produces a burning sensation. But the burning
sensation is due to the fact that it is made of nicotine and water, that’s
directly sprayed on soft bodily tissues in your mouth. Nicorette sprays have
not shown much success rate as compared to other nicotine replacement tools,
but they are still used by many people because of their convenience.
Metanine Products (Non-Synthetic Nicotine Products)
This is a comparatively newer product in the market, and
there hasn’t been any known research done on it so far, due to the fact that it
is a propriety product. The major ingredient in these vape products is
“metatine” which is framed as a substitute for nicotine, which gives the same
cerebral buzz and throat hit as nicotine, but isn’t actually nicotine.
The meta-substitution in the title of this product could
indicate having some group at the meta position of the pyridine ring of the
nicotine – a methyl group or a fluorine atom. There’s a possibility that the
compound is cotinine, but cotinine's potency is so much less than nicotine that
you would need a lot more of it to get the same effect. It could also be a new
nicotine salt other than nicotine HCl. Or somehow it is a prodrug of nicotine.
Although the prodrug route would mean that it would take time, around 30
minutes, to metabolize to nicotine, you wouldn’t get the immediate effect.
It is hard to form an opinion about this product since it
comes under propriety, but it could turn out to be helpful for people looking
for a nicotine alternative.
Final Note
Finally, with that being said, a big piece of advice in
terms of quitting in general is to reframe how you view yourself. Instead of
being someone who is "trying to quit smoking" be someone who is a
"non-smoker " or "smoke-free". It’s a simple change, but a
huge shift in mindset. Someone who is trying to quit can easily fall off the
wagon because quitting is hard and after all, you are trying your hardest! But
becoming smoke-free is an identity shift. You become someone who doesn't smoke.
It's way easier to deny a craving when you tackle it from
the perspective of "I don't do that anymore, sorry brain, but this is for
our own good" versus "this sucks and I have been trying so hard.....
maybe one little hit will take this pain away".
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