Written for Stock My Medicine and clinically reviewed by Hajra Dhanchora, MPharm (GPhC 2216990).
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) roughly doubles your chances of quitting compared with willpower alone - and with Stoptober a month away, this is the moment to pick your tools. The four main stop smoking aids each do a different job. Here's how a pharmacist would actually choose between them.
The four types of NRT, honestly compared
Patches are the background hum: steady nicotine through the skin all day, no decisions, no fiddling. 16-hour patches come off at night; 24-hour patches suit anyone whose first cigarette used to happen before breakfast. What they can't do is answer a sudden craving - they're prevention, not rescue.
Gum is the classic rescuer: chew slowly until peppery, park it against your cheek, repeat. It puts something in your hands and mouth - which matters more than smokers expect - and doses come in 2mg and 4mg depending on how heavily you smoked.
Lozenges do the gum's job discreetly - meetings, trains, anywhere chewing looks wrong - and suit anyone with dental work that rules gum out.
Mouth sprays are the fastest rescue on the shelf: craving to relief in about 60 seconds. If your cravings arrive like ambushes, the spray is the tool that matches their speed.
The combination trick most quitters miss
The strongest evidence isn't for any single product - it's for a patch plus a fast-acting rescue (gum, lozenge or spray). The patch holds your baseline steady; the rescue handles the coffee-break ambush. Combination NRT roughly doubles quit rates again over a single product, and it's exactly how NHS stop-smoking services prescribe. Our full stop smoking range carries every piece of the pairing.
Getting the strength right
The rule of thumb: more than 20 a day - highest-strength patch (step 1) plus 4mg rescue products. 10–20 a day - step 1 or 2 patch with 2mg rescues. Under 10, or your first cigarette comes an hour after waking - a rescue product alone may be enough. Run 8–12 weeks in total, stepping the patch down as you go, and don't rush the step-down: quitting the quit aids too early is one of the commonest relapse triggers.
The honest answers to the worries
"Isn't nicotine the dangerous bit?" No - the tar and carbon monoxide in smoke do the damage. NRT gives you the addiction molecule without the delivery system that kills. "Won't I get addicted to the gum?" It's uncommon and, compared to smoking, a trivial problem to have. "I quit before and it came back." Most successful quitters needed several attempts; each one teaches your triggers. This time, pair the NRT with your pattern - and if you smoke your first cigarette within 30 minutes of waking, take that as a flag to use the stronger doses.
Give yourself a fighting start
Pick a quit date a week or two out (or join the national attempt on 1 October - Stoptober exists because quitting alongside thousands of others measurably helps). Stock your kit before the date, not after your last cigarette. And if you're on prescription medicines - some, like certain antidepressants and blood thinners, need doses reviewed when you stop smoking - have a word with our pharmacist first.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use NRT if I'm still smoking?
Cutting down with NRT before a full stop is a recognised route - but the goal stays a quit date, not permanent dual use.
Is vaping better than NRT?
Vaping helps many people quit smoking, but NRT has the longer safety record and a clean exit path built in. Many quitters use NRT precisely to avoid swapping one dependency for another.
What about side effects?
Patches can irritate skin (rotate sites) and vivid dreams favour the 16-hour version; gum and lozenges can hiccup or tingle - usually a sign of chewing too fast. All trivial next to the alternative.