A friend is trying to quit again, she did really good (almost 2 weeks) and gave in, her hb smokes in the house, and car, and has no plans to quit,.. she wants to try the lozenges to see if that'll help her when hb is smoking around her, I told her I don't know about them, but was pretty sure y'all could help, she's mostly worried about the side effects she read about online...  I think she should give them a try and  the side effects are probably nothing to worry about if she uses as directed, but then again, I never used them so I don't really know.. anyone tried them or knows someone who has - were there bad side effects?

I have a friend who used the lozenges to quit successfully. Also Karen (Mastergardener) used the lozenges I believe. 

Hi Lace, I don't really know about the side effects, but they must pale in comparison to the side effects of smoking ;)

 

Maybe your friend can find her way here? :)

I tried them but I couldn't stand the taste. They burned my throat and it was like having a mouth full of pepper but if she can handle them then I agree with what action said.

thanks gang,  :)

 

DF, she grew up in Corpus Christi Tx and LOVES spicy food, so maybe this will be a good "fit" for her ^_^

 

Action, she lurks as a guest from time to time but doesn't want to join the  QT family because she says she'd feel too bad if she couldn't quit... tried tell'n her we don't judge here  and she'd have better success with us to help -  (I still have my fingers crossed she'll come aboard)  :P

 

thanks again y'all, :D

The lozenges helped me break some of the triggers. But they gave me gas and in the end you still have to go cold turkey. I would suggest not staying on them as long as the manufacturer recommends and be aware that all the CT symptoms will still come after you stop taking the lozenges.

I am up in the air about them, but they did give me the "bravery" to quit...

I have a friend who used the lozenges successfully to quit smoking after smoking close to 50 years!!!

Personally I found them to be very strong & they caused some gastric discomfort, nausea & bleeding gums but that can happen no matter what with quitting smoking from what I have read.

I started by using the nicotine gum 2 mg & it has helped. The 4 mg was way too strong for me....and I have stopped smoking after 40 yrs. I started with about 6 pieces a day (the package directions will say to use more but everyone has to decide where they stand as an individual...) The gum takes 5 min or so to reduce the craving but it does last for quite awhile. In just one week I am down to only needing 3 pieces of gum. I also tried the 1 mg nicoderm spray. It works fast but does not last as long as the gum.

Many will tell you that nicotine therapy is not the way to go...only cold turkey works fast. This is true I am sure but

when a person is afraid to try because of going through the side effects of withdrawl & keeps going back to smoking like I did, it's a little more comfortable. And the goal is to decrease the nicotine to not requiring any. For me that decrease is happening quickly.

I tried to quit many times before ever getting this far. I was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis & COPD & that sure gives you initiative to get on the Quit Train! We never think it could happen to us....but guess what....it can & does.

She will need this forum to help her to quit. People are not judgemental here, just helpful. I am a Newbie too. Good luck!

Lace, tell your friend that I was a lurking member on another site for 3 months before I quit. I think reading helped push me to finally go for it

Lace, tell your friend that I was a lurking member on another site for 3 months before I quit. I think reading helped push me to finally go for it

How is it going Dental Floss? Like you I read sites to finally quit. Are you still managing well?

Dental Floss: Did you use a smoking aid?

How is it going Dental Floss? Like you I read sites to finally quit. Are you still managing well?

My quit is going great. I hope it continues to go this smooth but if I hit a few snags I'll still power through.

Dental Floss: Did you use a smoking aid?

I used chantix.

Thanks for the added info MG and Tyme2B... got an email from her this morn'n she says to tell everyone thank you very much and asked me if the gum takes about 5 minutes to work, how does that help when she's read  that cravings only last about 5 minutes.. (again not knowing personally), I suggested that the  fact that it "lasts for quite a while" as you say Tyme2B,  will be the pay off ... ?

 

MG, she says if she tries the lozenges  and it gives her gas she "hopes it's really foul!"  if he's (her hb) is going to keep smoking in front of her she wants gas that "will curl his hair!" :laugh2:  :laugh2: ... needless to say shes a bit ticked off with him right now  :wink:

 

what about the patches? I told her  I tried those about 20 yrs or so ago,I gave up on them because they gave me HORRIBLE nightmares.. anyone know if "they" fixed that side effect?

 

Thanks again!  :D

Lace, I can't speak for the lozenges as I've never used them.  I used the patches for 2 weeks and it was enough to get me over the hump of not smoking.  I used them night and day for 2 days and didn't like the way they made me feel so I put one on in the morning and took it off before I went to bed on the 3rd day.  I don't remember any nightmares but that could be because I didn't wear them at night.  Good luck to your friend!

Cravings do only last about 5 min but they can come back again 10 min later at least in my case. The gum stopped that & gave me the strength to quit. I always tried to hold back using the gum though except maybe initially the first day to teach myself how to work the cravings. The cravings decrease & so does use of the gum. Hopefully in a few days I will be totally free of the gum too. I need very little of it now.... Good luck to your friend! She can do this once she loses the fear!

I tried the cvs brand mint lozenges (no real burn to speak of) and while my quot worked best cold turkey, they were a helpful transition/tapering tool. Helped me to identify triggers and pass up some cigarettes in those moments. The key is to really enforce a taper as the fact that you can take them in more situations than you can smoke opens up the opportunity to increase your nicotine intake depending on what level of smoker you were