Wow!! Nicotine Gum is one hell of a nicotine delivery system! What a way to quit!

[arcane1]

I chewed and munched the gum for a good half-hour, and now I'm higher than I've been in years! Where have you been all this time, oh absurdly potent gum, and why won't you go away?

No wonder this stuff was currency in colonial times.

[hobbit709]

1. You're not quitting you're just changing method of consumption.

No different than snorting coke or shooting coke.

The only way to quit is to quit completely.

I speak from experience.

[arcane1]

2. Oh I'm changing the method alright.

I'm more high from nicotine than I've ever been, and not from smoking, and without all the side-effects of smoking. It's pretty cool, but I am glad it is relaxing now. It was rather intense for a moment. It may have been easier to deal with if I had been in the forest with friends

[hobbit709]

3. Keep in mind that nicotine is also used as a commercial bug killer.

[beevul]

9. Yes, it is...just like salt is corrosive. N/T

[libodem]

5. I used it

It helped. Do what ever you have to. I thought the patches helped too.

[Warpy]

11. Any way you can manage to quit is the right way

A lot of people have tapered their dose down without realizing it by using the e-cigs.

[pipoman]

14. Complete nonsense

a huge part of the danger of smoking are the carcenegens in the smoke. A huge part of the addiction is the habit of lighting up. Eliminating the carcenegens and the habit will make this person less likely to die from the effects of smoking and make quitting completely more probable.

[hobbit709]

16. And you are still addicted to nicotene.

[pipoman]

19. No I'm not..

The glass is half empty..can't think positively..have to be dispariging. ..has no hope..can't take steps...my way is the only way..you cocaine in mainliner you..FFS

[arcane1]

22. Thank you, Doctor Science.

Tell me something I don't know

[a kennedy]

17. Got that right hobbit709.....ya quit and it in the end it was cold turkey.

Hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Whew. May 2nd 2005 was my quit date. I did use the patch and Wellbutrin but, ya gotta just get nicotine out of your system, period.

[cthulu2016]

31. That is stupid to the point of malice

Quitting smoking means quitting smoking.

Smoking is deadly. Nicotine use is not.

Your obsession with quitting nicotine is your personal issue and has nothing to do with the OP's desire to quit smoking.

And I have zero tolerance for the "running my mouth about nonsense is more important than whether you live or die" school of internet medicine.

[hobbit709]

32. did someone pull your string?

[Sgent]

39. Nicotine is deadly

it raises blood pressure and has effects on cardiovascular health.

That said, pure nicotine is much better for you than cigarettes, and its easier to quit the nicotine habbit after you quit the physical one (the act of smoking).

[hunter]

4. My brother quit smoking with that, and later he quit the gum.

Nicotine alone is still bad stuff, but smoking is much, much worse.

Nicotine alone, without the smoke, isn't as likely to kill you, even if you never quit.

My chain-smoking, hard-drinking, dockyard Rosie-the-Riveter-Welder grandma died of esophagus cancer.

Not a nice way to go.

[NoOneMan]

8. "Nicotine alone, without the smoke, isn't as likely to kill you, even if you never quit."

I just had a family member who was a non-smoking nicotine consumer get hit with a heart attack this week. The first thing the doctor told him was to quit the nicotine. The AHA makes a clear stand against it for a reason.

But if its more important than your health or your medical bills (or your risk pool's premium payments), then whatever floats your boat I guess.

[hunter]

10. Could just have well been the coffee.

I'm speaking as a never-smoker no nicotine ever guy who's been admitted to the hospital twice from the ER for cardiac irregularities.

I can read my own EKG.

Sure, quitting nicotine is best. But quitting smoking is the first priority.

I remember when I was a little kid my dad quitting. It was hard for him.

My grandma smoked. It killed her. Most other people in my family lived well into their 90s and 100s if something entirely random didn't kill them first.

[Voice for Peace]

27. I think alcohol is more often implicated in esophageal cancer than tobacco

but I'm no expert. Just knew some nonsmoking heavy
drinkers who died that way.

[NoOneMan]

44. I think about 3/4 cases are chronic drinking related

Many of those people might also smoke too.


Smokeless tobacco increase esophageal cancer risk by about 60%.

[Voice for Peace]

45. that makes sense, because the poisons are going down there instead of into lungs.

[pipoman]

13. Only people who

are without a clue would get so negative about a positive first step for someone with a smoking addiction.

[NoOneMan]

25. I wasn't responding to the OP

I was responding to someone who suggested that they could very well never quit consuming nicotine without a significant health risk (as it sounded to be worded).

[Bluenorthwest]

21. Your wording makes me think he was a tobacco chewer....

is that the case?

[NoOneMan]

24. Yes.

[cthulu2016]

34. Is there something challenging about the phrase, "isn't as likely to kill you"?

Seems straightforward. Isn't as likely to kill you.

Are you suggesting it is as likely to kill you?

[NoOneMan]

43. Yes, very challenging when followed with "even if you never quit."

Only in consideration of a false dichotomy of continuous smoking vs smokeless nicotine consumption would that make any sense. When someone changes the administration of this drug with the very intent to quit it entirely, broadcasting a reassurance of reduced harm if they rescind their goals (of absolute harm reduction) seems to be a bit counterproductive to the intent of the OP.

[tammywammy]

6. Good luck.

I'm currently on Chantix and I'm doing pretty good. I've been smoke-free since Thanksgiving.

[a kennedy]

18. Hey, good luck to you tammywammy....

we're all pulling for ya.

[Recursion]

29. Isn't that the one that causes homicidal rage in 0.1% of users?

(Then again, quitting smoking causes homicidal rage in a greater percent, I think...)

[tammywammy]

33. Possibly

But I'm a red head so, there's no change in my normal personality.

I tried this medicine once before and I was nauseated really bad. So, this time after talking with my doctor we decided to just do half the normal dose. As long as I take it after eating a full meal I don't have any issues.

He strongly recommended Chantix over the other smoking cessation choices, that it has the best rate of success.

[My Pet Goat]

7. I used nicotine gum to quit about 15 years ago....

The gum helped me first break the "habit" of smoking, which was (for me) incredibly strong. You know, one in the morning, several during breaks at work, one after you eat, etc. I couldn't believe how much I missed stepping outside for a quick five minute smoke at 10:30 in the morning. Fortunately I didn't have to deal with nicotine cravings at the same time and that helped me pull through.

Only when I felt I broke physical habits of smoking did I start reducing the nicotine levels (reducing the gum usage). I don't know what directions they have for the gum today, but back then the directions were too optimistic.

[pipoman]

12. I used the tablets

the dose was too high on them too. I broke them into 1/4s And after a couple months weened off by Substituting with Tic Tacs. Once the habit of smoking is overcome this takes like 6 weeks try subbing regular gum every other time. Good luck... and don't cave to the people who can't grasp the concept that breaking the smoking habit is more important than breaking the nicotine addiction....

[bemildred]

15. Yes. You can learn to manage it over time.

I quit smoking cold-turkey in 1993 or so. Later I missed the nicotine for certain purposes (it's a stimulant) and took up the gum because I don't want to muck up my lungs again. You can work up a heck of a habit if you don't pay attention, but it's much easier to break than smoking, because you don't get the rush like through the lungs. It's potent, pure, cheap, and OTC.

And definitely not a good idea if you have heart problems, like cocaine and other stimulants.

[actslikeacarrot]

20. Did you actually chew it like regular gum...

...for a half hour? When I used the gum, the directions said to chew it a few times then lodge it between my gums and cheek.

[arcane1]

23. Yeah, but I got side-tracked for a little while, and the next thing I knew I was floating around...

I've been using it properly for about 5 days. So far so good!

[broiles]

26. I've been chewing it for 20 years.

Use the 2 mg gum and chew slowly so you won't get high.

[Recursion]

28. Bingo. I've traded up my addiction...

It's even harder to break...

watch out for the hiccups, though; it's a sign of overdose.

[arcane1]

30. Thanks for the advice. I was a little over-zealous with my chewing last night.

And I got got LIT UP!!

I've definitely toned it down though, I go through two pieces a day, as compared to 1.25 packs a day.

[lillypaddle]

35. Well, chewing & munching may not be the best method

I'm surprised you don't have hiccups and heartburn. You realize that the nicotine is absorbed through the soft tissues of your mouth, don't you? Chew a few times and then "park" it in your cheek for a bit before you start up again. Good luck! (I'm using it right now, too)

[arcane1]

36. I do. I had been using it properly for a week before last night.

I just had a momentary lapse and forgot that it wasn't regular gum

[lillypaddle]

41. Well again

Good for you! And best of luck. I quit with the gum for about 4 years, and like a fool, started up again.

[arcane1]

46. I quit for 5 years, and then started again 10 years ago.

It's time! Besides, all my friends have quit by now, so when I'm out I feel like a leper with b.o.

[TeamPooka]

37. Good luck.

[mstinamotorcity2]

38. I quit regular cigarettes a month ago.

I have an E-cig for rough times. It helps keep the edge off. Its a 1.8 nicotine filter. The first thing I noticed was that I saved about $40.00 a week by quitting. That was a great incentive. For those who have never smoked, quitting can be a challenge for some. It has been for me. I don't know if I will last but I plan on to keep giving it the best that I got. Until I need nothing. Maybe a shot of Crown Royal Black. So far I have not bought any Tabaco products or have not asked other smokers for a cigarette. Asking other smokers for a cigarette is something I would find hard to do. When I started smoking my mom found out and told me that if I wanted to smoke I had to fund my own habit. She did not buy cigarettes. And if she caught me bumming she would put it on me. My mom is true panillow under the pillow. I haven't told her yet that I quit smoking. But can't wait until everyone notices that I don't smoke anymore.

[HereSince1628]

40. I've never smoked--does your response to the gum suggest that you mostly

held the cigarettes rather than sucked on them?

Just wondering about the dose-response relationship.

[arcane1]

47. I think the response was because I was chewing the gum a little too vigorously.

[HereSince1628]

48. Interesting...I hadn't considered how the rate of release might be affected

by the rate of chewing.

[EnviroBat]

42. What the hell?

I've been chewing these patches for weeks, and they tase awful! They make a gum...?