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What is the point of nicotine patches?
(lemmy.ml)
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There's two separate addictions going on with smoking: habit and chemical. What patches, nicotine gum, etc are trying to help people do is tackle them separately.
This means you can focus on getting out of the habit of lighting up after a coffee, or after a meal, or whatever triggers you had, while delaying the chemical withdrawal which seriously messes with your head until later. Tackling the two seperately is easier for many people.
With that said, patches don't work for everyone, and I hope you find the cessation aid (if any) that works for you. Quitting smoking is an absolute bitch.
For me personally, the most helpful aid was nicotine gum, and then swapping out the nicotine gum for normal gum once I was confident I'd kicked the habit part and could focus on the chemical withdrawal.