“Do cigarette quitting tablets really work?”

Pharmcotherapy for tobacco cessation is effective, but unfortunately not in everybody.  The best success is with a combination of usingnicotine skin patches, which deliver a consistent steady-state of serum nicotine, combined with the use of short-acting nicotine (which arenot tablets because nicotine is not well absorbed orally).  Short-acting forms include gum, lozenges and nasal sprays.  The combinedsuccess in one study was slightly over 50%, with men doing better than women.  However, the relapse rate at 6 months was about 20%.Other common treatments are the anti-depressant buproprion, which had a success rate of 35% and varenicline (Chantix) which was about25%.  There was significant relapse, in the range of 20-30% in both groups at 6 months.  All of these treatments worked better when combined with psychological support, both group and individual (i.e., a smoking cessation program).

The best treatment is Chantix tablets and 24 hour nicotine patched. The gum may help when he is having a stressful moment. Treatment needs to continue for many months

Nicotine gum does work, and many people do well with it. I often recommend using BOTH a nicotine patch and something you suck on. Nicotine lozenges often works better than the gum because they're easier to use.

Nicotine replacement will help reduce the physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal but there's more to it than just the withdrawal. You will notice that you will have cravings during certain situations (like if you always had a cigarette while driving, you will crave one then) when you used to smoke even with the nicotine gum. Change your pattern of behavior to avoid as many of these situations as you can early on. For example, if you always had coffee and a cigarette, avoid coffee for at least 30 days if possible. Also, find away to distract yourself during these times. Concentrating on coloring a mandala has been found to alleviate most cravings within 10 minutes so print some off. Also, you will need to start working on some healthy coping skills. For example, when people are stressed out, they tend to smoke more. Introduce something healthier into your life to deal with the stress like taking a short walk or using breathing techniques. Working on both the physical withdrawal by using nicotine tablets and the mental by learning good coping skills has the best chance for success. Whatever you do, don't give up. If you fail, get back up and try again. Eventually, you will make it! Good luck!