Smoking is not just a bad habit. Nicotine addiction is not only physical, but also psychological in nature. For many people, this is a way of life, a symbol of growing up and freedom. Such beliefs are firmly rooted in the foundation of attitudes towards life, because for many people it is so difficult to get rid of nicotine addiction. Nicorette products (spray, chewing gum, patch) allow you to break cravings and get rid of bad habits. But the main condition is the longing of the smoker himself to change his lifestyle.
Release form, composition and cost
The main active ingredient in all Nicorette preparations is medical pure nicotine. It serves as a kind of replacement for those substances that enter the human body after the act of smoking.
The drug has the following release forms:
- tablets;
- patch;
- chewing gum;
- spray.
Analogues "Nicorette" are also presented in various forms of release. It does not matter which one the dependent person chooses.
Nicorette tablets should be taken one or two pieces (depending on the severity of withdrawal symptoms when refusing cigarettes). The cost of one package varies from five hundred to eight hundred rubles, depending on the margin of the pharmacy chain and the number of tablets. Reviews of smokers about Nicoretta indicate that tablets are the second most effective form of drug release after the patch. Pills provide a complete lack of craving for a cigarette and an act of smoking for several hours after ingestion.
Spray is administered orally. One bottle implies the presence of 150 single dosages. The principle of operation is similar to tablets, but the cost is slightly higher - about a thousand rubles per bottle. At the same time, reviews indicate that the spray is less economical to use than other tools in the line.
The Nicorette patch, which has very few analogues, is recognized by smokers as the most effective means of traction. The main thing is not to forget to regularly change plasters for new ones. This form of release provides a gradual flow of nicotine into the bloodstream through the skin. Such a soft, but constant supply of the substance provides a reduction in traction on an ongoing basis.
Chewing gum is suitable for those smokers who have not yet reached the peak of their addiction. It contains a relatively small amount of pure nicotine. Its absorption occurs through the mucous membrane of the mouth. An important psychological point - the chewing process blocks the smoker's cravings on a psychological level.
Indications for use and pharmacocology
The instruction for Nicoretta indicates that the drug in any form of release has the following indications for use:
- withdrawal symptoms when refusing cigarettes;
- adjuvant in nicotine replacement therapy.
In most cases, the drug is effective as an independent tool. The principle of action of the drug and analogues of Nicorette is as follows:
- After absorption, nicotine is carried with blood flow throughout the body.
- Together with the bloodstream, nicotine reaches the brain, where it begins to actively affect certain receptors.
- A person experiences the same condition as when smoking a regular cigarette. To do this, it is not necessary to carry out a number of usual actions - set fire to a cigarette, inhale, exhale smoke. Thus, the destruction of patterns that are standard for each smoker is achieved.
- Every day less traction. As nicotine enters the body, the severity of withdrawal symptoms (a serious psychological condition provoked by excommunication from a bad habit) decreases.
- As the course of therapy, the dosage of the drug should be reduced. As a result, the body smoothly wean from nicotine. After three to four months of therapy, we can say that the bad habit is defeated.
Everything would be very simple if smoking was an addiction only on a physical level. The situation with the psychology factor is much more complicated. The slightest stress, conflict or misunderstanding - and the smoker reaches for a cigarette. If the habit has reached its climax, and analogues of Nicorette with nicotine in the composition do not have the desired effect, then you should discuss the problem with the therapist for addictions. It will help to break the vicious bundle of "stress cigarette", making it possible to completely abandon the bad habit.
Is there any guarantee that a person will quit smoking with Nicorette
No one can give such guarantees. In the fight against any addiction, whether it is overeating, alcoholism or smoking, the main key to recovery is the ardent desire of the patient himself.
Psychotherapy gives very good results. But the doctor should specialize specifically in working with addictions. In our country, there are few such professionals. Psychotherapy is more common, the purpose of which is to identify and stop neurotic conditions. In the fight against addiction, such therapy can also give a good result, but if the reason for smoking is not neurotic, then the money for going to the doctor will be wasted.
Statistics show that about 95% of smokers after a course of drugs "Nicorette" and analogues completely refuse cigarettes for a while. 70% of them return to their bad habit within a year. These statistics once again confirm that the causes of dependence lie primarily in a person’s inability to live in our conflict world without additional doping.
Many smokers, after giving up cigarettes, went over to the camp of alcoholics or began to overeat, which affected their figure. This is a beaten track: substitution of one dependence for another.
Side effects and contraindications
The instruction for Nicorette spray indicates that the drug has the following contraindications for use:
- diabetes mellitus of the first and second type;
- period of pregnancy and lactation;
- gastrointestinal ulcer in the acute stage;
- increased sweating (hyperhidrosis);
- persistent increase in pressure (hypertension);
- vegetovascular dystonia;
- chronic liver or kidney disease;
- children's age (up to 12 years);
- gastrointestinal ulcer in the acute stage;
- increased sweating (hyperhidrosis);
- persistent increase in pressure (hypertension);
- congenital intolerance of the components of the drug.
Possible side effects:
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- fainting condition;
- epigastric pain;
- exacerbation of gastritis and peptic ulcer;
- exacerbation of chronic kidney and liver diseases;
- jumps in blood pressure.
Reviews of smokers about Nicoretta spray indicate that the incidence of side effects is relatively low. If they do not appear in the first days, then the probability of their further development tends to zero.
Taking Nicorette tablets has a similar list of contraindications and possible side effects. Depending on the dosage chosen, poisoning symptoms may develop. Therefore, immediately start taking with large doses is undesirable. Some people have an allergic reaction to Nicoretta. Chewing gum in this regard is the safest form of release. After all, it contains the least nicotine.
The Nicorette patch, according to smokers, often causes a headache in the first days of use. If previously a person had migraine without an aura, then using the patch on a regular basis can trigger the appearance of an aura. As a rule, after the withdrawal of the drug, all side effects disappear within one to two weeks.
Special instructions for admission
The simultaneous use of drugs with nicotine in the composition with alcoholic beverages provokes a serious burden on the liver. This combination is contraindicated in people with chronic liver disease. With regular abuse of alcohol in combination with Nicorette, toxic hepatitis may develop.
If the patient has a history of chronic pyelonephritis or glomerulonephritis, then Nicorette, regardless of the form of release, should be carried out only after consultation with your doctor.
Self-administration of the drug by people with serious diseases of the cardiovascular system is unacceptable. High doses of nicotine can provoke a pre-infarction state. Doctors strongly do not recommend people with heart disease and even just smoking with hypertension. Nicotine-based medications are also highly undesirable.
Overdose Symptoms and First Aid
If the patient exceeds the dosage recommended by the instructions, then the following conditions should be expected:
- arrhythmia;
- nausea;
- the appearance of seizures;
- hearing problems;
- increased salivation;
- increased sweating;
- Dizziness
- pressure drop;
- lethargy and lethargy;
- respiratory depression;
- soreness in the abdomen;
- indigestion (diarrhea);
- vascular collapse (a type of heart failure).
A universal remedy for nicotine poisoning is milk. You should opt for a drink with low fat content, but you should not choose fat-free. Optimum - 2.5-3%. You need to drink it in one gulp, 1.5 - 2 glasses. If the patch was caused by poisoning, you should peel it off the skin and continue to not use it.
It is important to ensure that Nicorette preparations do not fall into children's hands. Children's age up to twelve years is a contraindication to taking any form of release. Kids are often curious, and when they see the Nicorette chewing gum, they rush to try it. When the symptoms of nicotine poisoning are manifested, parents realize that the child took advantage of their chewing gum. You should give your child a drink of milk, and with pronounced symptoms of poisoning, call an ambulance.
Reviews of smokers about Nicoretta
Reviews of heavy smokers about the patch "Nicoretta" positive. It is believed that this particular form of release is most effective. Only a patch for a relatively long time ensures the flow of nicotine into the body. In this case, the desire to smoke a cigarette disappears almost completely.
Reviews of Nicorette tablets indicate that this form of release is also very effective. She is especially fond of novice smokers. Almost all of them managed to abandon their bad habit for several months and never return to it. It is more difficult for heavy smokers, they almost always return to addiction.
The reviews about chewing gum are mixed. Smokers emphasize that the craving from it is practically not reduced. But positive reviews leave novice smokers. Such a “light” means is often enough for them to leave their addiction forever. A lot depends on the person’s initial motivation to quit smoking. If the goal is set clearly, and he is ready to achieve it, then chewing gum provides considerable support.
Reviews on the effect of the spray are also mixed. Almost all smokers need not one, but two or three presses on the bottle dispenser to significantly weaken the craving for cigarettes. At the same time, nicotine in one dose is enough to saturate the cells with this substance. As a result, when using the spray, people often overdose and nicotine poisoning. Reviews indicate that after using the spray, the head often hurts, migraines and severe dizziness develop.
Nicorette in the fight against female smoking
Most girls are afraid to quit smoking, because they believe that after that they will begin to recover. If you do not replace dependence on cigarettes with dependence on food, then you can not be afraid to gain extra pounds. Moreover - after giving up cigarettes, it is very likely that the metabolism will recover, and nutrients will be absorbed better and faster.
The girls' comments on the Nicoretta patch are positive. This form of release, according to former smokers, allows you to achieve a decrease in cravings most quickly. Reviews about the Nicoretta tablets, as well as about the spray, are ambiguous: someone was satisfied with the action, and someone experienced the whole gamut of side effects and could not give up the bad habit.
Reviews of doctors about Nicoretta
Doctors recognize the high effectiveness of substitution therapy. However, they do not deny that taking nicotine does not bring any benefits to the body and most often causes many side effects. In order to minimize it, you should work on your own personality and find the strength in yourself to abandon a bad habit without “crutches” in the form of replacement therapy.
Many of the doctors themselves smoke. Some of them managed to quit thanks to substitution therapy with Nicorette. This experience is most often positive. Due to their professional activities, doctors are most often aware of the nuances of the effects of pure nicotine on the body and ways to soften it.
Reviews of doctors about Nicoretta indicate that the most effective form of release is tablets, spray and patch. Chewing gum most often causes less substitution effect. It can be used mainly only by novice smokers, whose withdrawal symptoms after refusing cigarettes are not yet clearly expressed.
Foreign and domestic analogues of Nicorette
What can replace the drugs of this line? A cheap analogue of Nicorette spray is Nicoin, which helps to remove toxins from the body, has a calming effect. Studies have shown that people who used this spray were able to get rid of the bad habit within five to seven days, and also noted a marked improvement in the condition and the disappearance of insomnia. This analogue of Nicorette spray contains a greater amount of nicotine, due to which it acts in a short period of time. However, increased use of medical nicotine increases the possibility of side effects.
Analogues of Nicorette chewing gum - Nicotine Gum, Nicotrol, Nicotinel. The principle of their use is the same as that of the means considered in the article. Chewing gum has been supplemented with medical nicotine. In addition, the chewing process itself reduces the craving for cigarettes and helps to reduce appetite.
Nicorette tablets have a number of analogues that are cheaper or equal in price. These include Nikvitin Mini, Tabex, Lobesil, Brizantin, Citizin. The composition of the latter includes broom, as well as thermopsis leaves. This allows you to quickly and effectively reduce cravings even among the most heavy smokers.
Using the drug "Brizantin" not only reduces the desire to smoke, it also has a beneficial effect on the nervous system and helps to reduce appetite. This is ideal for girls who are afraid to quit a bad habit because of the threat of obesity.