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nicorette gum
by Barb, Nov 18, 1999 12:00AM
What are the long-term risks of continuing to chew nicorette gum for years? I chew maybe one or 2 pieces a day. I quit smoking 8 years ago and I realize I am addicted to the nicotine in the gum. This is all right with me, but is it possible it can cause cancer of the mouth like chewing tobacco can? I asked the nicorette people at their 800 number, and they said it couldn't give you cancer, but they sternly advised me to stop chewing it, that I was addicted to it now instead of cigarettes.
Many thanks - this is a great idea for a website!
Many thanks - this is a great idea for a website!
Now - how can I eat absolutely ANTHING I want & maintain a weight of 110 lbs?
Ditzy in Denver
Realizing I was getting hooked on the anti-smoking
gum, I switched to Wrigley's Double Mint.
BAD MISTAKE.
After chewing this for six months I had serious
caries problems, and lost a few teeth, acquired a
very long bridge (9 teeth wide) in the lower jaw.
That was in 1987-88. I had quit smoking in Nov 86.
By spring 1993 my emphysema was noticably worse.
And it has continued to get worse since then, despite
the lack of tobacco smoke and with the help of various
pulmonary medicines and inhalors. This month my
long bridge broke, and in not reparable due to the
lack of sound teeth to mount a new bridge on.
This past Thursday I had eight yes EIGHT lower
teeth extracted, leaving none. And I'm fitted for
a full denture and just waiting for the gum damage
to heal from the extractions and debrasion of the
underlying bone to enable a better fit for the
denture.
So if anybody tells you that quitting smoking will
stop emphesema in its tracks, don't believe them,
even if its AMA or your doctor speaking.
The damage to the lungs was worse than to the teeth.
I have been using continuous flow oxygen since March
1997, and the required dosage has increased in the
2.5 years since I started. Breathing is difficult
and I have given up driving a car. Also, I cannot
take a walk for exercise, as the effort is too hard
on my lungs, and has caused the condition known
as cor pulmonale, which is an enlarged right
ventricle due to its overwork. The left ventricle
which pumps to the rest of the body can't be
supplied well enough by the right ventricle.
Yes, emphysema can get worse.
The great blessing in your favor is your age.
I am 76 yrs old, and smoked for about 40 years.
I estimate about 75 pack-years, or almost 2 packs
a day for 40 years. I started smoking at age 18
and quit at age 63, with some gaps inbetween.
speaking.
Please don't let anything stop you from quitting
cigarets.
I have been chewing nicorette gums for over a year. I started with the 2mg gums and than decided to go with the 4mg gums to save money. I found my self chewing the gums like regular gums after a while. It would burn my throat, and now I have a throbbing feeling in my throat every once and a while. Have you ever heard of that?
I think I have to go cold turkey to quit, going on the gums have not slowed down my urge for nicotene. They may help a person from breaking the day to day habit of smoking, but not the addiction.
Have you ever heard of Ziban, it is some kind of antidepressant that stops you from wanting smokes. Is it safe to use?
All I can say is that nicorette has really screwed up my throat. I know it is my fault for chewing them so fast, but I would do it without even noticing what I was doing.
because I wanted to. I would be chewing the whole damn
box right now if I felt like I could make it to the store to
buy it. I don't follow directions very well on boxes be
mashed pototoes or a harmless looking box of nicorette.
Which is another thing the package system is all wrong
with nicotette gum, I have been trying to think for years
what i could do with another tape and I believe that the money spent on making such a tape would be better
spent by providing a miniture spittoon which we die
hard, gum smacking fools could hang around our necks
to spare us and our families the shame of finding a simi-
yellow wad stuck to the dash board, head board, sink,
cookie jar, wallet , coins ,books, jeans, coffee table,
coffee cup, spoons, toothbrush, need I say more. My husband says he even found it on his ass. I was afraid
to ask him if it was foiled or not foiled. We smackers do this because of the cost of our yellow friend, but it is a friendship short lived because once his color yellow is
gone off he goes to the trash can we searh the dryer for
a foil that may have made it through the wash with out
breaking open. So here I sit knowing I have searched
everywhere a patch on my arm back at ground zero
My patch is not working it does not taste very good.
dying in seattle.............................
He's the skinny on Nicorette Gum. Each piece of the normal gum contains 2mg of nicotine. Even the absolute BEST chewers in the world can only extract about 1/2 of that out of the gum.
Mouth Cancer? nicotine doesn't cause cancer. It's not a carcinogin.
What does Nicotine do? It slightly raises blood pressure by 1-2 mm/hg.
It slightly constricts blood vessels (so not good for CV patients).
Consider the following from smoke:
Heat (bad for lungs)
Tar (horrible for lungs)
Nicotine in very high concentation (see comments above but multiply by 4-5x)
100's of carcingongs (cancer causing)
Carbon Monoxide (lowers blood oxygen).
When you compare the two...much, much better to be on gum than smoking...
bottom line: tape off the gum slowly...reduce by 1/2 piece every week and you'll not even notice it.
good luck