Nicotine Gum

Nicotine gum is a type of chewing gum that delivers nicotine directly to the body. It's used as a stop smoking aid in smoking cessation and in quitting smokeless tobacco. The nicotine is delivered to the bloodstream by absorption through the tissues of the mouth.

It is currently available over-the-counter in Europe, the US and many other countries. The nicotine gum pieces are usually available in individual foil packages and come in different flavors including orange, and mint. Each piece of nicotine gum, usually contains 2 or 4 mg of nicotine, about the nicotine content of 1 or 2 cigarettes, with the  dosage depending on the smoking habits of the tobacco user. Three brands include Nicoderm, Nicorette and Nicotinell.

Other nicotine replacement products include the nicotine patch, (stop smoking pills) nicotine pills, pastilles or lozenges and the nicotine inhaler.

How To Use Nicotine Gum

The gum is chewed until it is soft and until a tingly sensation or peppery taste is noticed.  Then it's pressed between the cheek and gums, known as "parking" the gum. When the tingly sensation stops, the gum is chewed over again, and then pinched between the cheek and gums in a different area in the mouth. This is continued until the gum has released all the nicotine, which takes about 30 minutes.

Where Are Stop Smoking Aids Available? 

Various restriction exist around the world as to the accessibility of these stop smoking pills, medicines and medications. In the early 1990s they were sold by prescription only.

In the European Union and the United States, they are currently available at pharmacies over-the-counter but subject to the same restrictions on such underage purchases like tobacco products. The purchaser is usually directed to the pharmacist but in other cases the display of the nicotine therapy products is right next to the cigarette display. In many locations, nicotine gum can be purchased right off-the-shelf. At locations such as large retailers, where self-checkout lines exist, the product can be purchased without any human contact.  This may cause abuse by children or recreational users of drugs.

In Hong Kong, the large chain pharmacies or stores may require the purchaser of the stronger nicotine therapy (4 mg dose) to sign a register with a passport number or Hong Kong ID.

Nicotine Gum And It's Potential For Addiction

Because nicotine is an addictive element in cigarettes, a potential for addiction to nicotine gum exists also. Some studies performed by the drug companies show that changing to nicotine gum leads people to quit both the nicotine gum and smoking, for many the use of the replacement nicotine gum becomes chronic too. Event though  it's much safer than smoking, years of nicotine gum usage will still cost the addicted user many thousands of dollars. The cost per-dose in the EU, USA and Hong Kong is about 40 cents (US). So the price of nicotine gum often exceeds that of the cigarettes it is meant to replace.

Not proven but consider that nicotine gum may also drive the user to "dip" tobacco because it replaces the action of "lighting up" a cigarette with a reinforced oral self-dosage, and when the user runs out of the nicotine gum, they may turn to dangerous forms of "dip" or chewing tobacco.

Gum chewing is considered uncultured in many other countries.  In this case using pastilles may be a solution if available.

Nicotine Gum Side effects

Two of the more unpleasant symptoms that are noticed by new nicotine gum users and by existing users who make excessive use of nicotine gum are the hiccups and a much perceived constriction of the throat muscles.  This  is because accidental swallowing of saliva containing high amounts of nicotine may cause throat irritation. A Lesser known potential side effect of prolonged nicotine gum use is periodontal or gum disease. Nicotine does constrict the  blood vessels, including those of the gums. Prolonged use of the nicotine gum may lead to an inadequate blood flow through the blood vessels in the gums. This can make one susceptible to gum disease.