Nicotine gum - good idea or just continues addiction?

[slackerinabox]

I want to quit smoking (started as pack a week smoker 2 years ago now smoke a pack every 3 or 4 days, and my lungs hurt). I tried cold turkey but am getting massive headaches... Is nicotine gum a good tool, or will I just get addicted to gum that costs $40 a pack of 100?

 

[surfsatwerk]

It's a good tool. It can help you wean yourself off nicotine with gradually lowering the amount of nicotine you consume. But like any tool it is only as good as the person using it.

 

[BoomerD]

IMO, the gum and patches help relieve the cravings for nicotine while giving you time to break the "habit' of smoking. Once you get past the habit of reaching for a smoke with a cup of coffee, after meals, after sex, etc...then you can wean yourself off the gum/patches. That part of the habit is easier to break than the psychological part...the "habit" itself can be a motherfucker because it's something you've done repeatedly for a long time.

 

[slackerinabox]

It's a good tool. It can help you wean yourself off nicotine with increasing lower dosages. But like any tool it is only as good as the person using it.

Cool.. About to run out and get some then.. This is a dumb question, aside from the direct nicotine after effects, would an "addiction" to nicotine gum even be that dangerous, since you're saving your lungs from all that tar?

 

[surfsatwerk]

Cool.. About to run out and get some then.. This is a dumb question, aside from the direct nicotine after effects, would an "addiction" to nicotine gum even be that dangerous, since you're saving your lungs from all that tar?

It's comparable to caffeine and other stimulants.

 

[slackerinabox]

Awesome - thanks guys, I'm sold and look forward to quitting. Unemployed so my home office smells like an ashtray, which really helped me realize I have a problem. Quit drinking, MJ, and hopefully now smoking all because unemployment helped me realize how wasteful bad habits are! That you shitty economy!

 

[nerp]

The gum saved me.

Try Walgreens brand 4mg cinnamon to start. It's cheap.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I can't quit the gum. I've stepped down from 4mg to 2mg successfully without increasing the number of pieces I chew, but I can't make the next step. On the plus side, it's been nearly 2 years since I've smoked anything and I feel great as far as lung health and general energy levels. I feel like there's always a chance I could go back to smoking so long as I'm still addicted to nicotine though.

I think I could do it if I could step down to a 1mg and then maybe a .5mg nicotine gum, but all I've been able to find is 2mg and 4mg. I dunno, it's definitely possible to realize some benefit by using the gum, but getting off of it is just as hard as quittng smoking in the first place.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Awesome - thanks guys, I'm sold and look forward to quitting. Unemployed so my home office smells like an ashtray, which really helped me realize I have a problem. Quit drinking, MJ, and hopefully now smoking all because unemployment helped me realize how wasteful bad habits are! That you shitty economy!

I recommend huffing airplane glue. Cheap and economical, plus all the cool kids are doing it.

 

[TwiceOver]

For me to quit, nothing was better than something. I tried all the gums, patches, pills, etc and the only thing that worked was education. Read up on why you are addicted, read some books such as Allen Carr's easy way to quit smoking and also follow up on message boards such as quitsmokingmessageboard.com

Get at it! It is completely worth it.

 

[slackerinabox]

For me to quit, nothing was better than something. I tried all the gums, patches, pills, etc and the only thing that worked was education. Read up on why you are addicted, read some books such as Allen Carr's easy way to quit smoking and also follow up on message boards such as quitsmokingmessageboard.com

Get at it! It is completely worth it.

I'll give it a look if the gum alone doesn't do the trick.. I'm lucky in that I haven't been smoking for decades, and I'm a relatively light smoker. I feel like i can quit cold turkey (my addiction is more physical than the habitual), and have but the headaches are migraine level. I can't function, so I puff up again.

 

[bobdole369]

Don't get me started.

Read my sig

 

[nakedfrog]

Lozenges > gum, IMO.

 

[nakedfrog]

Don't get me started.

Read my sig

People are different.

 

[bobdole369]

Likely to be flamed but here is my opinion (Waiting for GA to enter this thread):

It can help you wean yourself off nicotine with gradually lowering the amount of nicotine you consume.

There is no such thing. Nicotine addiction changes the makeup of your brain in such a way that it is nearly impossible to "cut down" or wean yourself off. This is why "light" cigarettes were such a poor idea (besides that you actually got more nicotine from them than "full flavor") Your brain creates more and more nicotine receptors and eventually levels off and you must maintain a certain serum level for your brain to be satisfied. It is "changeable" as folks do seem to be able to adjust their intake levels slightly, but for the most part, you need to be intaking nicotine roughly every hour-3 hours to stave off the withdrawal symptoms.

Your body will go through a roughly 72 hour period of physical withdrawal. Every time you intake any appreciable amount of nicotine, that timer is reset. Now your body doesn't just want a puff. It doesn't want a little bit. It wants that level it has been used to for so long. So if you give it just a puff, it'll restart withdrawals, and you have to go through the 72 hours again.

So why prolong the inevitable? The commercials for Nicorette or the patch are written by a company with an interest in keeping you addicted to either the gum or to keep you "trying" to quit. The product they sell you resets your addiction for another 72 hours. So it doesn't "suck less" at all. It just makes it suck forever.

Nearly everybody that I know that has "tried" to use gum/patch/zyban has failed. I count 29 people personally that are still smoking. My mom being number 30 that I know - it worked for her. I know of 8 folks who have quit cold turkey and are still quit today after 3 months. Just about everybody that has failed at cold turkey also went to the gum, including myself, so consider that I know about 39 people right now who are still or are currently quit smoking.

Just stop smoking. You really need to give it your all, you need to really want to quit, you really need to just resolve that you are never, ever going to smoke again.

I think that is really the key, and lots of folks think its too hard so they can just spend money on it.

You are going to have some pains, most likely you are going to fear your new life without smoking, but you can relearn how to live, without puffing away every hour of your life.

Hope it works for you and PM for more info and encouragement.

 

[dullard]

While I haven't read studies on the issue, I'd have to think that the gum is healthier. The gum has far fewer chemicals and no tar. Of course, the gum still has the worst chemical - nicotine. However, you'll smell far better and those around you will be healthier. Might as well try it.

I watched my Dad try to quit the gum for years while it was still a prescription. He just couldn't drop the nicotine. He had to quit the gum once he couldn't find any doctors in town that would continue to prescribe it to him. It is just a tool. If you don't fight your nicotine addiction yourself, then the tool is useless. By the way, the nicotine patch cured my dad of the nicotine addiction almost immediately.

 

[bobdole369]

Well - not smoking is better than smoking... but gum or patch addiction is more expensive.

 

[surfsatwerk]

http://www.jpsimbulan.com/2008/09/2...addiction-habit-and-psychological-dependency/

There are lots of reasons why people smoke, chemical addiction to nicotine is but one reason. If a person wants to quit they should investigate all possible solutions available.

For example I smoke because it's fucking cool and I enjoy flicking my butts at people who displease me. I tried quitting once and started flicking lit firecrackers at people but, apparently, that gets a person arrested these days.

 

[slackerinabox]

Well - not smoking is better than smoking... but gum or patch addiction is more expensive.

I know your post means well, and I know you're right. At this point, I worry most about the damage I'm doing to the lungs of my wife and .. my pets! I've quit smoking before and find my self returning during times of stress and depression, so it's obviously a coping mechanism. If I can get to the point of using the gum as my crutch then I can safely view that as progress. To quit nicotine is a larger battle that I'll deal with in time, but until then I can stop stinking up my house and ruining everyone else's lungs.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Well - not smoking is better than smoking... but gum or patch addiction is more expensive.

Actually, I'm spending considerably less on gum than I was on cigarettes. I was smoking a pack a day at nearly $5 a pack. One 170 ct pack of equate brand nicotine gum is $33. I chew 8 pieces of gum per day. That's 21 days on a $33 box of gum. 21 days x $5 pack of cigs per day = $105. Considerable difference there.

Still, any money at all spent on a nicotine habit is money wasted. It's still ~$500 a year that I could be spending on other things. I'm just saying that chewing the gum is definitely a step up on several levels compared to smoking. I have completely rid myself of the notion that I have to stick a burning tube in my mouth every hour or so. If I've replaced the psychological habit of occasionally sucking on a cancer stick with chewing gum, at least the gum chewing is a habit I can safely replace with normal non-nicotine gum eventually. My lung function has returned to normal. I feel better than I have in years. If I could only quit the gum I'd be completely rid of smoking in every respect.

 

[frostedflakes]

While I haven't read studies on the issue, I'd have to think that the gum is healthier. The gum has far fewer chemicals and no tar. Of course, the gum still has the worst chemical - nicotine. However, you'll smell far better and those around you will be healthier. Might as well try it.

I watched my Dad try to quit the gum for years while it was still a prescription. He just couldn't drop the nicotine. He had to quit the gum once he couldn't find any doctors in town that would continue to prescribe it to him. It is just a tool. If you don't fight your nicotine addiction yourself, then the tool is useless. By the way, the nicotine patch cured my dad of the nicotine addiction almost immediately.

Nicotine itself isn't really that horrible for you, it's all the other shit in cigarettes that I'd worry about. I mean it has some negative health effects (hypertension, stuff like that), but gum should still be tons better than smoking.

 

[slackerinabox]

I can't quit the gum. I've stepped down from 4mg to 2mg successfully without increasing the number of pieces I chew, but I can't make the next step. On the plus side, it's been nearly 2 years since I've smoked anything and I feel great as far as lung health and general energy levels. I feel like there's always a chance I could go back to smoking so long as I'm still addicted to nicotine though.

I think I could do it if I could step down to a 1mg and then maybe a .5mg nicotine gum, but all I've been able to find is 2mg and 4mg. I dunno, it's definitely possible to realize some benefit by using the gum, but getting off of it is just as hard as quittng smoking in the first place.

This is probably a very stupid idea, but how about finding chiclets that look/taste similar enough, find a pocketable container and split the gum 50/50 (half nicotine gum half regular). Pop a piece either at random, or consciously - either way that may just make you a gum addict vs. a nicotine one

 

[MrPickins]

IMO, the gum and patches help relieve the cravings for nicotine while giving you time to break the "habit' of smoking. Once you get past the habit of reaching for a smoke with a cup of coffee, after meals, after sex, etc...then you can wean yourself off the gum/patches. That part of the habit is easier to break than the psychological part...the "habit" itself can be a motherfucker because it's something you've done repeatedly for a long time.

QFT

The physical addiction is only half of the habit.

 

[zinfamous]

Nicotine itself isn't really that horrible for you, it's all the other shit in cigarettes that I'd worry about. I mean it has some negative health effects (hypertension, stuff like that), but gum should still be tons better than smoking.

at the concentrations you find in cigarettes, sure, not horrible for you. But nicotine is a deadly deadly poison. A shot of the purified stuff will kill you pretty quickly. It takes a much larger dose of pure ethanol to reach a comparable toxicity.

 

[nerp]

Well - not smoking is better than smoking... but gum or patch addiction is more expensive.

Gum addiction isn't more expensive. I am buying boxes of gum from walgreens for $19 to $24 and they last me a week, easily. A pack of camels every day is $8 per day x7 days.