Why Use NRT to Help Quit Smoking?
If you’re considering Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) as part of your quit smoking plan, it’s good to know the benefits of this quit smoking strategy.
- Clinical trials show that Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) increases your chance of quitting significantly – by 50-70% compared to quitting without help.
- NRT does not contain the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes and tobacco smoke, such as the chemicals known to cause cancer. At present, there is no evidence that nicotine causes cancer.
- Using the correct dose, NRT products contain much less nicotine on average compared to smoking tobacco, plus the nicotine is absorbed at a slower rate.
- There is no evidence you are likely to become dependent on NRT, with very few people using NRT products for longer than the recommended timeframe.
Using NRT in Tricky Situations
When you’re trying to quit, nicotine cravings can spring up on you unexpectedly – especially in situations where you used to smoke. You might find yourself trying to ignore that little voice that says “Go on, just have one.”
A big advantage of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is that it’s ideal to use at challenging times like these.
- Imagine you’ve had an unexpectedly stressful day and suddenly a craving hits you. You can use oral NRT immediately to reduce and manage the craving before you give in to temptation.
- Or, let’s say you’re going to a party next week and you know you’re going to want to smoke when you’re there. Oral NRT is perfect for this situation, especially with discrete products like the NRT lozenge or nicotine mouth spray.
Just make sure you have your NRT product readily available and don’t run out, particularly in the first 8-12 weeks of quitting. It’s also a good idea to keep oral NRT with you for when those unexpected cravings hit.
You might experience cravings in these common trigger situations:
- Social events such as parties
- Travelling to and from work
- Alcohol-related situations
- Stressful moments
- Drinking tea or coffee
- Socialising with a smoker
You can read about common smoking triggers here