Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)

Nicotine replacement aids Nicotine replacement patches Nicotine replacement gum

You can use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) during pregnancy if it will help you stop smoking and you're unable to stop without it. Stop smoking tablets such as bupropion (Zyban) are not recommended during pregnancy.

NRT contains only nicotine and none of the damaging chemicals found in cigarettes, so it is a much better option than continuing to smoke. It helps you by giving you the nicotine you would have had from a cigarette.

How NRT works

Video: How NRT can help you quit smoking

Nicotine is an addictive drug that actually changes your brain. That’s what can make quitting so hard.

Nicotine activates the reward pathway in the brain that makes us feel good when we do something we enjoy. Every time you smoke you get a feeling of reward and so you want to do it more. Over time, the body learns that it needs nicotine to feel good, but it can never get enough.

When your brain is used to having the reward pathway activated regularly by nicotine from smoking and then this stops, you can get withdrawal symptoms like cravings. The good news is that you can use nicotine replacement therapy to help your brain get used to having less nicotine, and over time your brain will go back to the way it was before you smoked.

NRT weakens the cravings and re-trains the brain. NRT allows just enough nicotine to be in the body and this helps reduce the withdrawal symptoms you may feel when quitting smoking.

Long-acting NRT such as patches provide a steady, low level of nicotine for a long period of time to help make withdrawal symptoms more manageable.
Short-acting NRT products such as gum, lozenges, nasal sprays, and inhalers get nicotine to the brain pretty fast, but the nicotine doesn't stay for very long. They can be helpful when you suddenly get a stronger craving.

Using both long- and short-acting forms of NRT together is more effective than using one type alone. Use patches to provide a steady low level of nicotine, and then a short-acting NRT product for times when you have a shorter, stronger craving.

Video: How to use NiQuitin minis

Where can I get NRT?

You can be provided with NRT during pregnancy by a an NHS stop smoking adviser. You can also buy it over the counter without a prescription from a pharmacy.

NRT is available for free as:

patches
lozenges
Gum

You can also buy some items over the counter:

Mouth spray
Inhalator
Nasal spray

If you have pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting, patches may be a better solution.

NRT patches should be used for no more than 16 hours in any 24-hour period. The best way to remember this is to remove the patch at bedtime.

Before using any of these products, speak to a midwife, GP, a pharmacist or a specialist stop smoking adviser.

By getting this specialist advice you can be sure that you're doing the best for your baby and for you.

Call the National Smokefree helpline on 0300 123 1044 from 9am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 11am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday.

Remember, you are twice as likely to be successful at quitting if you get some support from a trained adviser.