I was going to title this piece "Does Nicorette Work?" But I changed it to the title it has now, because I realized that Nicorette may work TOO well.

What I mean by this is it gets nicotine into your blood and brain really fast. Which brings up the immediate problem that you may just be replacing your addiction to smoking with an addiction to nicorette.

The main issue is nicotine addiction. Nicotine is why you smoke cigarettes. It may not be why you started--in fact, it's definitely not why you started--but it's why you still smoke. It is ridiculously addictive and creates some minor havoc in your body and mind when you don't have it.

I feel that certain smoking aids--like Nicorette--are not the best way to quit smoking. Theoretically, you can follow the "directions" and chew a certain amount of the gum and little by little chew fewer pieces and fewer pieces until you are weaned off of nicotine. One thing I will say is that chewing nicotine gum is probably a lot better for your body than inhaling the smoky chemicals that help deliver the nicotine in cigarettes to your body.

But is it a good way to quit smoking? I don't think so as a rule, because I just don't think it's that easy to follow the proper instructions that come with the gum. I hate to seem cynical, but it seems like less a cure to smoking and more an opportunity to sell a product to an addict and sort of put off the quitting.

I don't know what the company who produces the product would say to this, but I just don't think that the switch to another nicotine delivery system is the way toquit smoking. Anything is better than smoking, however.

I mentioned above that there are some directions as to how to use the gum to wean yourself off of nicotine, but I truly believe that most people will not fullly understand how to use it or will not show the discipline needed to finish the program.

I also haven't seen any documented figures about rates of quitting and/or picking up the smoking habit again after using nicotine gum. It is a muddy issue with a lot of interests and differing opinions involved. 

But I will say this though, if you want to quit and make the conscious decision to live healthier and you see the immediate benefits that quitting smoking will afford you, you will have taken a crucial first step to beating your addiction. I truly believe the if you WANT TO QUIT, you will be able to quit. Read about some of the methods I used to quit smoking--they may give you some ideas on how to attack your smoking addiction.

After about 5 months of really wanting to quit, I was done for good. I tried to quit for a couple of years or so, but it was only about those last 5 months in which I reallly told myself I needed to stop and kicked my butt to stop. It took some really hard work at the beginning.

I would love to hear what other (ex) smokers have to say about how to quit smoking and if they had any success with Nicorette or other nicotine gums.