The Nicotine Transdermal System

one of the most difficult part of quitting smoking is getting rid of the nicotine addiction that accompanies cigarette smoking. when i chose to quit, i realize this and although people say that the best method of quitting is by "cold turkey", i figured why subject myself to the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal when there are aids available in making the transition from smoker to non-smoker more bearable and less traumatic?!

so, before i finally set a date for quitting, i first made sure that it'll be that way for me.... so i can guarantee myself a more successful result. i inquired about the availability of transdermal nicotine patch here in the Philippines.... only to find out that they are not available. however, the currently available stop smoking aid here is nicotine chewing gum, which i bought prior to quitting. [it's funny that according to their advertisement in the U.S., by quitting using the nicotine gum, one can save money because the cost of one piece of gum is roughly equivalent to one stick of cigarette. this, of course is not true here because one piece of gum here costs one pack (20 sticks) of cigarettes!!!]

as fate would have it, at the time that i decided to quit, my cousin Doris, who is a nurse in the US, was here visiting with her family. She had with her a box of the nicotine gum that prior to coming home, she just thought of bringing with her... for no apparent reason! when i told her about my plan to quit, we then realized the reason for her bringing it.

in spite of the fact that i have the gum to help me quit, i told Doris about my preference to have the transdermal patch because i experience sore throat whenever i use the gum.... and so, before she left she told me that she'll send me the patches. true enough, about 2 weeks later she had the patches sent to me through another cousin. however, it turned out that using the patch would involve undergoing 3 steps.... with each step using a different patch containing decreasing amounts of nicotine that is delivered through the skin over 24 hours (the time of use for each patch). Doris sent only a box for Step 1. thank you very much Doris!!!

as fate would have it again, Noel informed me that he was coming home.... that was my opportunity to request him to buy Step 2 and Step 3. now, i have the patches for the entire program.... and i started using them today!

so, here's to a completely "smoke- and nicotine- and gum- and patch-free" lynn!!! cheers!!!

by the way, i am now on my 6th week of being smoke-free!!! yipeeeeeeeeee!!!