> The danger is in the smoking, not the addictive substance.
Actually, that's incorrect. Nicotine acts as a stimulant and constricts blood vessels, which causes all kinds of serious circulatory problems in the long term - high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes and so on.
Unfortunately there's no easy way around nicotine, you just have to stop ingesting it.
The gum/patch can alleviate the withdrawal symptoms, but you'll still have to quit the gum.
A 2013 Gallup Poll finds that 92% of successful ex-smokers did not use the nicotine patch, gum, Zyban, Chantix or Champix, that most quit smoking cold turkey.
"There are some studies of prolonged nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) in smokers who have quit smoking. In these studies, no adverse effects have been found when nicotine medication was administered for months to several years. Other studies indicate that patients with known cardiovascular disease tolerate NRT well for periods up to 12 weeks. "
By far, the danger is in the smoking, not the nicotine in your bloodstream.
allowed an open-ended response, so someone "might have decided to quit" or quit because "it was time" but also used an NRT to help them through the cravings and not have mentioned that to the interviewer.
Actually, that's incorrect. Nicotine acts as a stimulant and constricts blood vessels, which causes all kinds of serious circulatory problems in the long term - high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes and so on.
Unfortunately there's no easy way around nicotine, you just have to stop ingesting it.
The gum/patch can alleviate the withdrawal symptoms, but you'll still have to quit the gum.
From http://whyquit.com/pr/082613.html
A 2013 Gallup Poll finds that 92% of successful ex-smokers did not use the nicotine patch, gum, Zyban, Chantix or Champix, that most quit smoking cold turkey.