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Nicotine was of of the the first pharmacological agent which Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for use in smoking cessation therapy. Nicotine replacement therapies, such as nicotine gum, the transdermal patch, nasal spray, and inhaler, have been approved for use in the United States. They are used to relieve withdrawal symptoms, because they produce less severe physiological alterations than tobacco-based systems, and generally provide users with lower overall nicotine levels than they receive with tobacco. |
An added benefit is that these forms of nicotine have little abuse potential since they do not produce the pleasurable effects of tobacco products. Nor do they contain the carcinogens and gases associated with tobacco smoke.
The FDA’s approval of nicotine gum in 1984 marked the availability (by prescription) of the first nicotine replacement therapy on the U.S. market. In 1996, the FDA approved gum (Nicorette®) for over-the-counter sales.
Whereas nicotine gum provides some smokers with the desired control over dose and ability to relieve cravings, others are unable to tolerate the taste and chewing demands. In 1991-1992, FDA approved four transdermal nicotine patches, two of which became over-the-counter products in 1996, thus meeting the needs of many additional tobacco users.
More than 1 million individuals have been successfully treated for nicotine addiction since the introduction of nicotine gum and the transdermal patch, estimates based on FDA and pharmaceutical industry data. In 1996 a nicotine nasal spray, and in 1998 a nicotine inhaler, became available by prescription.
There is obvious that all the nicotine replacement products- gum, patch, spray and inhaler are equally effective. In fact, the over-the-counter availability of many of these medications, combined with increased messages to quit smoking in the media, has produced about a 20 percent increase in successful quitting each year.
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