Using NRT while you cut down
Nicotine replacement therapy, or NRT, means patches, gum, lozenges, sprays and the like. Using it while you cut down has helped people quit smoking. For vaping, the trials so far are few and small.
What NRT is
Nicotine replacement therapy gives you nicotine without vaping or smoking. It comes as patches, which release it slowly through the day, and as faster forms you use when a craving hits: gum, lozenges, inhalators, and mouth and nasal sprays.4
This page doesn't recommend a product or a dose. That depends on you, on how much you vape and on anything else you take, and it's what a pharmacist or stop smoking adviser is for.
What the evidence shows for smoking
Cochrane's review of cutting down to quit smoking looked at 11 trials, with over 8,600 people, where cutting down was combined with a medicine. Overall, people who had the help were more likely to quit than people who cut down on their own, though the review rates that evidence as low certainty. Looking more closely, the benefit showed up with fast-acting NRT, such as gum or lozenges, and not with patches on their own.1
There's also a smaller finding about the moment itself. In a study of people who smoked now and then, using 2 mg nicotine gum when tempted roughly halved the odds of that temptation ending in a cigarette, compared with a placebo gum.5
And for vaping: thin, so far
Everyone in those studies smoked cigarettes. For people who vape, Cochrane's review found two small trials of combination NRT, with 214 people between them, and no sign that it helped: a risk ratio of 0.96, rated very low certainty.2 "Very low certainty" means the next trial could easily change the answer. It isn't evidence that NRT doesn't work for vapers. It's a sign the question hasn't been properly tested.
The NHS is more positive. Its page on quitting vaping calls switching to another fast-acting nicotine product "one of the most effective ways to stop vaping", and suggests asking a pharmacist or stop smoking adviser about a suitable NRT product.3 We've told you both so you can weigh them.
Who to talk to
- A pharmacist can talk through which products might suit you.
- A local stop smoking service. In England they're free, and they offer nicotine replacement along with up to 12 weeks of support.4 They were set up for smoking, so ask what they offer for vaping.
- Your GP, particularly if you have a health condition or take other medicines.
Using NRT still counts
Some people feel that using NRT means they haven't really stopped. The point is to stop vaping. If NRT helps you get there, that's what it's for. What you do about the NRT later is a conversation for you and whoever is helping you.
Where TaperØff fits
TaperØff Plus includes a way to log NRT beside your vaping: the product, the dose your pharmacist suggested, and when. NRT never counts against today's puffs and never makes a day read as over. It sits in its own quiet row in your Journey.
The app gives no dosing advice. Wherever NRT appears, it points you to a pharmacist or your local stop smoking service.