Something I don't understand about quit smoking aids

[Vivi22]

I've always wondered what is the point of quit smoking aids such as gum, lozenges, or patches. The goal to quitting smoking is to rid oneself of the addiction to nicotine, correct? So, how does having an alternate nicotine source help? It seems sort of counter productive as wouldn't you just be continuing to fulfill the addiction?

Isn't the point to rid yourself of the addiction entirely instead of just shifting the way it is administered? It sounds like the same thing as quitting cigarettes by replacing it with dip or chewing tobacco.

To me quitting cold turkey which is difficult seems like the only effective option. Of course I could be completely wrong about this and is why I'm asking.

The idea, I would imagine, is to taper off to ease the nicotine withdrawal. The thing about trying to just quit cold turkey isn't just that nicotine withdrawal would probably be a ***** for a lot of people, but there's also a psychological addiction you have to break which is almost harder than the nicotine addiction to break. In fact, the physical addiction to nicotine passes quite quickly I believe. But not everyone can go cold turkey and deal with it, so ease the nicotine withdrawal and they really only have the psychological aspect to overcome.

I'm not saying it necessarily works since I've never smoked, but the reasoning seems sound to me. Might not work for everyone, but it's something to try.

 

[Baneat]

studies show that nicotine replacement is more effective than cold turkey. the results aren't great but they are there. i assume you mean in the case of long term relapse which is the same amongst nearly all forms of quitting while short term relapse is lower under aids

Are you just guessing about the studies or...?

Check out the sources provided at the beginning of this article:

http://whyquit.com/pr/053110.html

 

[Idlemessiah]

I quit for new year after smoking for nearly 4 years. It's been 10 days and 2 hours since my last cigarette. Sure I still think about it but the cravings are just about gone.

Cold turkey. No bullshit, just tell yourself "NO". Don't keep any emergency cigs. Throw everything away and just don't buy any more, it's as simple as that.

Nicotine patches and gum are a waste of time in my opinion. I never even bothered with them. Why "cut down" or "taper off" when you can cut off and purge? Sure you're not smoking any more but you're still addicted to nicotine, and you're not saving any money, then there's always the temptation of "to hell with the dumb plasters I'm going for a fag".

Like I said, the best way (note: I didn't say easiest, I said best.) to quit smoking is to do just that and keep telling yourself NO!

 

[Realitycrash]

As far as I know, I am immune to addiction to cigarettes, or at least it does not affect me in the same manner that it does others. I have been on-off smoking for ten years, but the only time I feel a 'need' to smoke is when I drink, and then it's more 'Damn, a cigarette would taste really swell right now'. And so I have one. And I might even have an entire pack, because I like the taste.
And when I wake up, hung over, I feel no desire what-so-ever to smoke, and I continue to have no desire what-so-ever to smoke until I drink alcohol the next time. I've been doing this for ten years (and I've been drunk at least twice a month for the last ten years) Whatever addictive properties nicotine has, it holds no sway over me. If I don't drink, I don't smoke. There's no compulsion, no desire, no uneasy feelings. It doesn't even register. I just don't feel a thing.
I always found this weird, given how much people go on about 'all it takes is one cigarette' or the like.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Those things help your cravings out without fucking your lungs over in the meantime. Trust me, I'm a pharmacist-in-training.

 

[Something Amyss]

EDIT: Alright from what I gather from most of the responses is that quit smoking aids are a healthier way to get nicotine or they are used to gradually taper off.

Partially, but the other element is the habit associated with smoking. Breaking that habit (the act of actually lighting up, etc) is very helpful in helping you quit the actual drug.

 

[O maestre]

i agree the patches never made any sense to me at all, the only thing that got me to stop was not the addiction or the health risks, but the cost.

the government continued, to add tobacco tax and eventually i calculated how much i was spending a month and found it was too expensive.

if you want people to stop hit em where it hurts, i have not smoked (except a traditional new years cigar) in two years and i use to smoke on average half a pack a day. Altough i now find cigarette smoke annoying and the smell of it repulsive, i might conceivably even start again if the prices ever lowered enough.. although generally the socializing aspect has gone the way of the dodo. for me the habit was something i enjoyed, it allowed me to take quick breaks from whatever i was doing and think about nothing, and still have something to occupy my hands, without looking stupid.

the day the prices were jolted up too high i went cold turkey, and buying nicotine patches wouldn't make sense as they were almost just as expensive.