Nicotine Patches: Do They Work?

When it comes to quitting smoking, that nicotine patch many use might not do the trick.

It looks like the nicotine replacements don't work as well as most of us thought, at least not by themselves.

Hopefully many smokers are trying to break the habit this new year. That's one of the best things you can do for your own health. But according to this new study, if you're just using nicotine patches, gum or lozenges alone, that might not do the trick.

Researchers have found that these nicotine substitutes didn't help someone quit smoking over the long term any more than just going cold turkey. Those types of nicotine replacements were not the "magic" pill needed to kick the habit. But they do seem to work well if used along with professional therapy offering counseling and advice on how to cut back on this habit. As a matter of fact, those trying to quit by using the patches or gum alone ended up smoking again twice as often as those using these same nicotine replacements along with counseling.

And here in Colorado that counseling, and the nicotine patches, are supplied for free. All you need to do is call the Colorado Quitline. It's funded by the state and is set up to help you with what you need to quit, something that's sometimes tough to do on your own. To get a hold of the Quitline simply call 1-800-Quit-Now or go to www.coquit.org.