Nicotine Inhalers and Smoking Cessation
By Bob Sherman
Nicotine inhalers are cigarette-like plastic cylinders that allow for the insertion of a disposable cartridge. The cartridge normally contains about 10 mg of nicotine and 1 mg of menthol. About 4 to 5 mg of nicotine can actually be delivered from puffing on the inhaler. About 80 puffs will deliver 1 mg of nicotine (the equivalent of 1 cigarette).
Nicotine is absorbed in the back of the mouth so inhalation of the vapor is not required, and is highly discouraged. Puffing the inhaler is more like smoking a pipe, without inhalation. You should not drink acidic beverages (juice, coffee, wine, soft drinks) before or during inhaler use.
Nicotine inhalers allow you to use the inhaler when the craving for nicotine requires. It also provides for a similar hand to mouth ritual just like cigarettes. An additional benefit is that nicotine inhalers can be used in no-smoking environments.
Smoking cessation can take time. It does not have to be an on or off dichotomy. Rather, nicotine replacement therapy has been show to assist smokers in reducing the number of cigarettes per day they smoke. In addition, it can help move a smoker to consider and achieve complete cessation.
Various strategies are available to reduce tobacco consumption. In one study (Bolliger, Zellweger, et.al) attempted to work with smokers who were not willing to quit immediately. They provided active inhalers to 200 participants and placebo inhalers (with menthol but no nicotine) to 200 participants. The target was to reduce the number of cigarettes by 50%. The active nicotine inhaler was 3.59 times more effective than the placebo.
In four studies of nicotine inhalers, complete cessation was 2.08 times more likely (with ranges from 1.43 to 3.04) using the nicotine inhaler than a placebo.
Whether you want to reduce smoking or to quit completely, the nicotine inhaler has been shown to be effective.
Resources
- Chris T Bolliger, Jean-Pierre Zellweger, Tobias Danielsson, Xandra van Biljon, Annik Robidou, Ake Westin, Andre P Perruchoud & Urbain Sawe, Smoking reduction with oral nicotine inhalers: double blink, randomized clinical trial of efficacy and safety, BMJ, v 321, 5 August 2000, 329-333.
- Tim Lancaster, Lindsay Stead, Chris Silagy, Amanda Sowden for the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Review Group, Regular review: Effectiveness of interventions to help people stop smoking: findings from the Cochrane Library, BMJ v 321, 5 August 2000, 355-358
- Robin L Corelli & Karen Suchenak Hudmon, Medications for smoking cessation, Western Journal of Medicine, v 176, March 2002, 131-135.
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