What is a Nicotine Patch?

Nicotine patch is a substitute for cigarettes. There are three main doses of nicotine patches, which contain 7, 14, 21 mg of nicotine. Users can choose different doses of patches according to the amount of smoking. Just apply the patch to the skin during use and only need to be changed once a day. It is more convenient to use. The nicotine patch can provide nicotine at a more balanced rate, thereby keeping the nicotine content in the blood constant.

Nicotine patch

Nicotine patch is a substitute for cigarettes. There are three main doses of nicotine patches, which contain 7, 14, 21 mg of nicotine. Users can choose different doses of patches according to the amount of smoking. Just apply the patch to the skin during use and only need to be changed once a day. It is more convenient to use. The nicotine patch can provide nicotine at a more balanced rate, thereby keeping the nicotine content in the blood constant.

Chinese name

Nicotine patch

Foreign name

Nicotinepatch

Nature

Cigarette alternatives

Features

Keeps nicotine content in the blood constant

However, this is different from the situation when smoking. Smoking takes intermittent nicotine, and the content of nicotine in the blood of smokers is not constant. With each smoking, the content of nicotine in the blood will increase rapidly, which will make the smoker have a strong sense of satisfaction. In other words, although the use of nicotine patches does not make smoking cessation patients with withdrawal syndrome due to lack of nicotine, users do not have the same satisfaction when smoking. And this difference in satisfaction affects the user's willingness to use to a certain extent.

When smoking, nicotine enters the body from the lungs. Nicotine content in nicotine patch drugs is low, and skin absorption is used as a way to slow the absorption and metabolism rate of nicotine to replace nicotine from cigarettes, providing a low amount for those trying to quit. The stable nicotine concentration can effectively alleviate the symptoms of abstinence when used properly. This is the so-called "Nicotine Replacement Therapy" (NRT).

The 24-hour patch is divided into three dosage forms, 21Mg, 14Mg, and 7Mg, which can be used for 24 hours. It can provide a stable dose. The blood concentration of the drug reaches the highest after 4-8 hours. Those with more than one pack of cigarettes a day are recommended to start with 21Mg. Use, the use steps are:

1. Remove the nicotine patch that has been applied for 24 hours before taking a bath.

2. After bathing, dry your body and cut the packaging bag with scissors.

3. Remove the adhesive film from the patch and leave the nicotine patch in the air for 1-2 minutes.

4. Stick to the upper body without wrinkles or hair, such as belly, back, upper arm, etc. Do not stick to the position of the heart.

5. Get dressed.

6. One piece a day, posted in different positions every day.

Common side effects

1. Local itching and redness (25 )

2. Diarrhea, indigestion, muscle pain (3 )

3. Insomnia and poor sleep (2-3 )

Nicotine replacement therapy uses low-dose medicinal nicotine instead of nicotine in tobacco, and it gradually helps to reduce the dependence of cigarettes on smokers, and reduces the symptoms of withdrawal. Slowly, the smoking addiction gradually decreases until it disappears, so that the smoker can easily achieve the purpose of getting rid of "addiction". Among the smoking cessation aids recommended by the World Health Organization, nicotine replacement therapy products (such as nicotine chewing gum, nicotine patches, etc.) are recommended as first-line drugs.

Some professors pointed out that there are more than 4,000 harmful substances in tobacco, and more than 81 compounds have been proven to have carcinogenic effects, including tar and carbon monoxide. However, nicotine contained in tobacco is only an addictive substance, not a carcinogen. substance.

Relative to tobacco, medicinal nicotine is low-dose. It can provide the body with a small amount of medicinal nicotine through the sustained release of the skin or absorption of the oral mucosa, but it is sufficient to resist smoking.

Because the route of absorption is different from cigarettes, it does not cause drug addiction. Clinical studies have shown that within the recommended dose absorption range, it has not been shown to cause any serious adverse reactions, and has helped reduce smokers' addictive behaviors and various withdrawal symptoms.