Stop smoking aids: do they work?

Tablets (Nicorette) and lozenges (Nicotinell and Niquitin CQ)
A number of tablets and lozenges containing nicotine are available. The Nicorette Microtab, Nicotinell Lozenge and NiQuitin CQ Lozenge deliver similar amounts of nicotine as 2 mg gum. Like the gum, the nicotine is absorbed through the lining of the mouth.

Inhalator (Nicorette, Boots)
The inhalator looks like a cigarette holder, inside which you place a cartridge containing nicotine. When you get a craving, you hold the inhalator in your hand, taking shallow puffs (like a pipe) or deep puffs (like a cigarette). Nicotine is taken into the mouth and the back of the throat but not into the lungs. Clinically proven to double your chances of quitting, the inhalator is helpful when your body craves the nicotine and your hands and mouth miss the cigarette.

Effective non-nicotine treatments:

ZYBAN (bupropion hydrochloride SR)
Zyban is a non-nicotine treatment to help smokers who are motivated to quit. It works in the brain to help break the addiction to nicotine and differs from nicotine replacement therapies in that it does not substitute one source of nicotine with another. Zyban reduces the cravings for cigarettes and the withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting. Clinical trials have demonstrated that Zyban doubles your chances of success.

Zyban comes in tablet form; it is taken as a two-month treatment course and costs the charge for a prescription. Smokers should start taking Zyban whilst they are still smoking and set a date for quitting during the second week of treatment, for example, on day eight of taking the tablets. Tablets are usually taken once a day for the first three days, then twice a day for the remainder of the two-month treatment course.

The most common side effects are difficulty sleeping, dry mouth and headache. These are usually mild and generally diappear within the first few weeks. Zyban should not be taken by people who suffer, or have ever suffered, from seizures (fits) or eating disorders.

Champix (varenicline)
Champix is the most recently introduced non-nicotine product and is only available on prescription. Like Zyban, it is started 1-2 weeks before the 'quit date', starting at a dose of 1 tablet daily and increasing after 3 days to 1 tablet twice daily for another 4 days. On day 8, a higher dose tablet is introduced, and this is continued twice daily until the end of the 2 month course. The most common side-effects are nausea, abnormal dreams and dry mouth. Champix causes side-effects more commonly than Zyban, but was shown to be about twice as effective in 1 recent trial. It works in a similar way to Zyban, reducing cravings and the urge to smoke. It can be taken by people with a history of seizures or eating disorders, but should not be taken during pregnancy or breast-feeding.

Quitline: 0800 00 22 00