What is Nicotine?
Nicotine is the main substance involved in tobacco smoking addiction.
After being rapidly absorbed in the mucosa of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract, nicotine acts in the brain causing different effects in the short and long term.
The increase in the number of nicotinic receptors in the brain induced by smoking, associated with their stimulation first, and then inhibition, by smoking, would play an important role in the development of nicotinic addiction syndrome.
Nicotine patches
To avoid withdrawal symptoms, which include depression, nervousness and bouts of bulimia, diehard smokers may resort to nicotine-containing adhesive patches.
The therapy is conceptually very simple and is based on the administration of predetermined quantities of nicotine through the skin, to be gradually reduced over time; the need for cigarettes should thus gradually subside.
The nicotinic dosages present in these patches are lower than those normally inhaled through a cigarette, but often sufficient to prevent the appearance of deficiency stimuli.
Benefits
Smoking cessation patches have a number of benefits:
- the nicotine contained in them is not associated with the toxic, irritating and carcinogenic substances present in cigarette smoke.
- They are very practical and avoid gastrointestinal disorders resulting from hasty chewing of nicotine-based chewingum; moreover, thanks to the constant release through the skin, they maintain plasma concentrations of nicotine relatively stable over time.
To avoid the risk of intoxication, it is recommended to strictly follow the doctor's instructions and to keep the medicine out of the reach of children.
As a general rule, patches with a lower dosage should be used the smaller the number of cigarettes smoked daily.
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Some advices
- The chances of being able to quit smoking are increased if substitution therapy is followed by competent medical personnel.
- If you smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day, start with a strong-strength patch (15 mg in 16 hours or 21 mg in 24 hours).
- If you smoke less than 10 cigarettes a day or your body weight is less than 45 kg, start with the 14 mg patch in 24 hours or the 10 mg patch in 16 hours.
- The patch applied for 16 hours a day has the same effect as the one applied for 24 hours a day.
- Using the patch for 8 weeks has the same effect as using it for a longer period of time and it has not been shown that it is better to gradually reduce the dosage than to stop applying the nicotine patch altogether.
- The nicotine patch should not be used for more than 3 months.
- Consult your doctor or pharmacist for correct information on using the smoking cessation patches.
To produce the desired effect, nicotine patches must be used appropriately:
- Use one patch a day
- Apply in the morning to a smooth, dry, clean area of skin, arm or other upper body
- Although the patches are well tolerated, skin irritations are a frequent problem. This side effect can be curbed by applying the patch to different places on the skin every day.
If symptoms such as mental confusion, visual or hearing changes, breathing difficulties or cold sweat appear, it is good to consult a doctor as soon as possible.
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