Medication to help you quit

There are a range of different treatments available that can double your chances of stopping smoking for good. In fact, if you use NHS support and a stop smoking medication to help manage your cravings, you are up to four times more likely to stop smoking.

All of the products detailed are available on prescription, making them cost effective. They become even more cost effective when a pre-payment certificate is purchased.

 

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

NRT is proven to be effective in helping smokers to stop smoking. It doubles a smoker’s success rate, irrespective of the amount of behaviour support given. It is one of the most thoroughly researched medications for smokers.  There have been over 100 randomised controlled trials supporting its efficacy and this is across countries, in different settings and amongst different patient groups.

The withdrawal symptoms that occur when someone quits can undermine quit attempts in the short term. NRT helps with this problem, because it relieves some of the discomfort and allows a person to get on with the act of stopping. For example, irritability is as a direct result of low levels of nicotine in the body.

NRT does not contain toxic chemicals like tar or carbon monoxide, and does not cause cancer. NRT is suitable for most people. You are swapping nicotine from a cigarette for clean pharmaceutical nicotine. Smokers will be getting 2/3 less nicotine than what they would normally get from their cigarettes. And the delivery from NRT will be much slower than the 7 sec hit they would get from a cigarette, which makes it difficult to become addicted to NRT products.

NRT products are equally effective; it all comes down to preference. However, the main aim is to get a similar amount of nicotine to the body as when smoking. The more nicotine from NRT products that is used, the better the success rate of stopping smoking. Combination therapy, where two NRT products are used at the same time, is endorsed by many expert bodies including the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), the Department of Health (DH) and the NHS.

All NRT products apart from the patch allow you to control your own dose, meaning people can use more when they would normally smoke more. i.e if you smoke more in the evening you can use more of the gum in the evening than you would during the day.

There are lots of different products to choose from. The descriptions below will help you to understand your choices and we recommend that you speak to your local stop smoking advisor for further advice.

 

Products

 

Nicotine Gum

When you chew nicotine gum, the nicotine is absorbed through the lining of your mouth. A specific chew-park-chew technique needs to be used when using the nicotine gum to ensure the nicotine arrives at the brain, where needed.

 

Nicotine Patches

Nicotine patches work well for most regular smokers and can be worn round the clock (24 hour patches) or just during the day (16 hour patches). They provide a steady stream of nicotine to the body.

 

Microtabs

These are small tablets containing nicotine, which dissolve quickly under your tongue. Multiple tablets may be used at once, and they are discrete.

 

Lozenges

Lozenges are sucked slowly to release the nicotine and take about 20-30 minutes to dissolve.

 

Inhalators

Inhalators look like a plastic cigarette. The inhalator releases nicotine vapour which gets absorbed through your mouth and throat. If you miss the 'hand to mouth' aspect of smoking, these may suit you.

 

Nicotine nasal spray

The spray delivers a swift and effective dose of nicotine through the lining of your nose. The fastest acting NRT product on the market, it may be especially responsive for smokers who smoke soon after waking.

 

Other stop smoking medicines that can help

 

Zyban
(Bupropion Hydrochloride)

Zyban is a treatment which changes the way that your body responds to nicotine. You start taking Zyban 1 to 2 weeks before your quit day and treatment usually lasts for a couple of months to help you through the withdrawal cravings. It's only available on prescription and is not available if you are pregnant, other conditions can result in exclusion from using the drug.

Champix
(Varenicline)

Champix works by reducing your craving for a cigarette and by reducing the effects you feel if you do have a cigarette. You set a date to stop smoking, and start taking tablets 1 or 2 weeks before this date. Treatment normally lasts for 12 weeks. It's only available on prescription and is not available if you are pregnant.

For more information please read Page 3 and Page 58 of the Summary of Product Characteristics document (PDF 319 kb).