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Withdrawal and reenforcing addiction
I tried to put the following into the article, but it was removed within minutes:
Nicotine is a relatively easy drug to quit. As far as I know, not one person has ever died from nicotine withdrawal. Moreover, nicotine dependency is short-lived. Nicotine is completely out of the body in 48 hours. At that point, physical cravings cease. Anyone who can go 48 hours without a cigarette stands a really good chance of quitting. Nicotine is highly addictive, however. Any small amount, even from second-hand smoke, will immediately reenforce nicotine addiction - resetting the clock back to 48 hours. The nicotine patch will guarantee that the addiction clock is reset back to 48 hours every time it is used. Logic might suggest that one cannot end nicotine addiction by taking nicotine. Unlike heroine or alcohol withdrawal, you cannot die from smoking cessation. Therefore, a step-down program would appear to be unnecessary, and fails as a quitting aid in a great many cases.
Perhaps the best method to fight cravings is exercise which causes the body to produce its own endorphins. These endorphins in turn negate many of the effects of withdrawal.
It seems likely that the cigarette industry would love to convince everyone that it is impossible to quit smoking. That way, people would not ever try to quit. Short of this, the next best thing would be to convince everyone that it is very difficult to quit smoking. Then people will give-up trying more easily.
How can this information be included in the article? Or is this article monitored by the advertising agencies and public relations firms for the patch sellers and the cigarette companies?
1 - This is original research, since this is your opinion and speculation. Wikipedia's not the place for that.
2 - Accusing Big Tobacco of things without evidence is not objective, and not encyclopedic.
3 - You completely ignore the psychological addiction, which is the hardest part of quitting. Smokers come to think of the cigarette as a magic wand that relieves stress and makes them feel good. Even years after one quits smoking, one will feel cravings. Trust me, beating the phsycological side effects is much harder. The patch helps with that, because it just feels like you're fine without nicotine at all (it's a lot harder to ignore a patch sitting on your arm than something you actively light, smoke from, ash, and throw away). This helps us learn on a subconscious level that the cigarette is not magic, and that we don't need it to feel good. The gradual decrease is detox, so that when we finally finish with the patches, we might not even notice the physical withdrawal. 129.237.90.25 (talk) 23:16, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
Patch Concerns
I have tried nicotine gum and the nicotine patch and i have found in both cases that i craved more cigarettes using artificial nicotine products than when i actually smoked. I also found that if you are trying to eliminate your body of nicotine because you want to quit smoking you can't use artificial nicotine products because they continuously put nicotine into your body never getting rid of the nicotine, so its better to go cold turkey as hard as it may be for you. http://www.drweil.com/u/QA/QA53796/
69.15.3.130 15:31, 5 February 2007 (UTC)I have actually found the patch quite helpful. Smokers are addicted to cigarettes in two ways: physically and mentally. Going cold turkey and trying to combat both addictions at the same time is nearly impossible. Instead, with the help of the patch, you can first fight the mental addiction and the actual action of smoking a cigarette. After 6 weeks of not smoking a cigarette, you can begin lowering your patch strength and hence your nicotine intake. This tiered approach really does seem to be the easiest way. I've been a smoker for many years and could not believe how much the patch helped with my cravings.69.15.3.130 15:31, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
I'm sorry but that "it's better to go cold turkey" canard has always rankled me. All of the studies I have heard reported (I'll try to find some citations) show that no single method works for even a slight majority of smokers. Cold turkey is the best method for some smokers. I quit a 30 year habit on the first attempt by tapering off until I went down to about 10 to 12 cigarettes, concentrating on each trigger one at a time more than the number of cigarettes. Then I went on the patch. I did this on the advice on smoking cessation counselors, with mine own emphasis on recording and triggers. People are different and one size does not fit all -- once again. Bostoner (talk) 04:44, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
Dreams claims suspect
I just experienced a nicotine patch dream in which my father passed away. It was so scary that I'm still weeping. I have had nicotine patch dreams before that are intense and positive, but mine usually have very negative, nightmarish elements. The worst part is, when I become lucid, as I would in a normal dream, and ask, "am I dreaming?", the answer comes back, "no, this is real life" in my mind. I have discontinued nicotine patches from my nightly habit, but I fell asleep napping and this happened. I am seriously considering discontinuing patch use due to this experience.
I have never heard that nicotine patches cause violent or erotic dreams. And nicotine generally reduces sexual desire, so the erotic dreams claim does not seem very logical --Nctn 19:00, 9 July 2007 (UTC)
Google nicotine patch and lucid dreaming. You'll find plenty about vivid dreams and some complaints of nightmares. I assume that some claiming satisfaction with the patch were seeking erotic dreams. I'd argue that it is a very reasonable claim.
As this article says, people are different. Some dream more vividly (or at least remember their dreams more, because they wake up during them); some do not. Some find the dreams to be pleasant. Some get nightmares. The patch is effective enough to at least try it. I had no problem with dreams. When I do get nightmares, they stop bothering me when I wake up and find out that they are not real, but then again, I'm not a very spiritual person.Bostoner (talk) 04:44, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
Any drug that messes with neurochemistry (which nicotine does) is going to have the potential to cause dreams and/or dream disruption. Since you usually don't smoke while sleeping, the patch will likely be the first time you've gone through REM sleep with significant amounts of nicotine in your system. The positivity or negativity of the dreams, like those of hallucinations, is probably based more on your own state of mind than on the drug. That's why a lot of people will refuse to take hallucinogens when they are in a bad mood. They believe (and with some justification) that it will lead to a "bad trip." Don't go back to smoking because you had a bad dream. Seriously. As a friend of mine would say, "Man up." 129.237.90.25 (talk) 23:24, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
Nicotine Patches
My problem with nicotine patches is that there is not a patch strong enough for me. I smoke at least 2 packs of cigarettes a day. If a single cigarette delivers 1 mg. of nicotine, a 21 mg. patch does me no good. I would have to wear 2 patches to escape the nicotine cravings. Is there any harm in that? Maybe a 21 mg. patch and a 14 mg. patch would be a better place for me to start. Nicotine is not my problem, lung capacity is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.232.1.12 (talk) 15:01, 20 February 2009 (UTC)
Do NOT wear more than one patch. That can lead to DEATH. Talk to a doctor if you think they won't be enough. Also, Wikipedia is definitely not the place to seek medical advice. Seriously. 129.237.90.25 (talk) 04:35, 21 February 2009 (UTC)
Article is informative but not well-written
I found this article to be very informative, and its content is timely. However, does anyone else notice that it lacks an encyclopedic writing style? Its style ranges from conversational to advertising to incomplete reporting, whereas an encyclopedic article contains reliable facts broght together in a nonbiased, comprehensive style. I would like to begin making editorial changes in style via this talk page. Tell someone (talk) 10:
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