NRT can help you quit
When you quit smoking, the lack of nicotine feels unpleasant and drives you to want to smoke again. NRT replaces some of that nicotine to help make quitting easier, but in a safe and non-addictive way.
Why quitting smoking is difficult
I try to explain to people that it's a lot harder - like all of a sudden you find out you are pregnant and you're just going to stop. Trying not to smoke is making me kind of moody, stressed out - and that just makes me want to smoke.
Emma, 29
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Many women try to quit smoking when they are pregnant - but this can be hard, as your body has to get used to not having nicotine.
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When you smoke, nicotine reaches your brain very quickly and stimulates the release of brain chemicals that make you feel good. Over time, this changes the brain and you need to smoke just to feel ‘normal’ or ‘OK’ - this is what is meant by addiction.
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When you stop using nicotine, the brain is disrupted and it’s usual to get unpleasant physical and psychological effects known as nicotine withdrawal symptoms. These can include strong cravings for cigarettes, feeling down or sad, feeling irritable or grumpy, feeling restless or anxious, feeling hungrier, or difficulty concentrating or sleeping – see here for more information. These feelings are what usually drive you to have another cigarette.
How NRT works
You are meant to be using the nicotine replacement to wean yourself off - so for me, if I'm smoking a cigarette I'm nowhere near stopping. However, if I can replace a cigarette with something else, like the patch or lozenge, I am then getting closer to giving up for good.
Lauren, 27
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Nicotine Replacement Therapy or NRT helps you to quit smoking. NRT replaces some of the nicotine that you would usually get from cigarettes while your body and brain adjust to being without them. This helps to relieve the urges to smoke - cravings - and other withdrawal symptoms from quitting smoking, so you can cope without cigarettes while you break your habits around smoking.
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Unlike smoking, NRT is not addictive - it's easy to stop NRT. It’s not a replacement for smoking or meant to be enjoyable – think of it as a medicine.
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Most importantly, NRT gives you clean nicotine - nicotine alone - without the cancer-causing chemicals and carbon monoxide found in cigarettes. It is these other substances, not nicotine, that cause health problems for you and your baby. Learn more about the harms of smoking.
How ‘combination’ NRT works
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You may notice that you crave cigarettes more during pregnancy – and there’s a good reason for this. When you are pregnant, your body breaks down nicotine twice as fast, so less reaches your brain. This means that you need more NRT to stop you from wanting to smoke. To help you get enough nicotine and to improve your chances of stopping smoking, the NHS recommends that you use two types of NRT together - combination NRT.
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There are different types of NRT – long-acting patches and a variety of fast-acting types like lozenges and inhalators. Combination NRT means using a daily patch plus one of the fast-acting NRT types together – this is more effective than using one product alone.
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An NRT patch gives you a slow, steady supply of nicotine to manage your withdrawal symptoms. Then, when you need extra help, you can ‘top up’ your nicotine with a fast-acting product like a lozenge or inhalator. See 'How to use NRT' to find out more.
Motivation matters
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If you use NRT correctly, you can really improve your chances of quitting - but NRT can’t do all of the work. Even when using NRT there will probably be times when you really want to smoke – see our section on Tips to taking your mind off cravings - so it’s important to stay determined.
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That’s why we are here to support you too. Baby, Me & NRT gives you access to a specialist pregnancy Stop Smoking Practitioner and an intelligent text message service – providing you with personalised information, tips and encouragement when you need it. This support, combined with NRT, will give you the best possible chance of quitting smoking.