Nicotine Gum?

[MHJ]

Out of curiosity, is nicotine gum toxic? Wouldn't the process of swallowing nicotine come with a number of health risks? Isn't nicotine poisonous?

[micheal]

Makes you think about chewing tobacco right?

[Serenity]

I wouldn't think they'd allow it on the market if it was toxic to a dangerous degree. What it's supposed to do is take the edge off the craving for a cigarette, but one guy I know swopped his cigarette addiction for a nicotine gum one that seemed just as bad to me. Not exactly an ideal method in my book but if it works for you, go for it. Anything's got to be healthier than smoking.

[riskey58]

I have never tried it, but I don't think I would swallow it. It can't be good for you. I would think it would do some kind of harm.

[ken7700]

My mom tried to and hated it. She said it tasted horrible and really did not help her at all. I doubt that they are toxic because they would not let them put them on the market.

[Kitten]

Well it's going to be like consuming nicotine otherwise. So yes, it 'is' bad for you, but to a lesser degree than the substance whatever the person was taking originally....and it's intended to break the habit, so it's a start.

[Taggart]

I'd expect that although you'd still be consuming nicotine, you wouldn't be breathing the tar into your lungs as you would from smoking cigarettes at least?

[katharina]

Originally Posted by Taggart

I'd expect that although you'd still be consuming nicotine, you wouldn't be breathing the tar into your lungs as you would from smoking cigarettes at least?

Yes... and it's surely not meant for long-term usage, but just as a way to slowly taper of the cigarettes. You're right... there are other horrible things in the smoke in addition to the nicotine.

[mollyL]

I never tried the gum, or have been around those who used it. I thought that it wasn't exactly like chewing gum, or am I mistaken?

[justontime]

As I understand it nicotine gum is intended as a temporary aid to help people stop smoking. So it is not intended for long term use and not intended to be swallowed. Chewing gum is not meant to be swallowed, but I don't think it would do you any harm if you accidentally swallowed some.

[katharina]

Originally Posted by justontime

As I understand it nicotine gum is intended as a temporary aid to help people stop smoking. So it is not intended for long term use and not intended to be swallowed. Chewing gum is not meant to be swallowed, but I don't think it would do you any harm if you accidentally swallowed some.

This is the way I understand it, too. It's not for long term use, so that's probably how they can get away with whatever *is* in it.

[riskey58]

I know people who have used it, and it didn't help them. But I never thought to ask if they ever swallowed it.

[The right way]

You do not swallow the gum but you might swallow some of the nicotine and if you read the instructions you are supposed to chew it a few times to activate it and then store it in your gum beside your cheek for a while then chew it a few more times later. If you were to use it long term you could suffer mouth cancer like you could with chewing tobacco but most want it out before it is in too long anyway. I believe the idea is keep it in about the length of time you would take to smoke a cigarette. I had a friend who had a small plastic container in her purse that she would put on her desk at work and she would chew a peice as directed and put it in the little container till later and a piece would last her most of a working day. Those who can't stand it or found it made them feel ill and did not work for them probably chewed it as a chewing gum and got too much nicotine and in that case it might be worse or as bad as smoking as far as nicotine levels in the body. BTW she has used it for years and thinks she will as long as she craves the smell of smoke so it has done her good I think.

[justontime]

I was just wondering if there were any warnings on the packaging or instructions to say that it is dangerous to chew it like gum or to swallow it? I am surprised they are allowed to market it as a gum if it is as dangerous as The Right Way suggests to chew it like chewing gum.

[The right way]

I did say could be dangerous and yes the brand I was reading says something on the package that it is meant to be chewed as I said above. I am not sure if it gave warnings on the package but when I picked it up from my pharmacist for my mother inlaw he gave me some info on it and I asked what is the danger,,, he told me it could cause problems just like chewing tobacco in a long term use. Could be that he just felt that way too but he made sense since it is a nicotine substance.

[HereToday]

I've never known anyone the nicotine gum helped to quit, so I never tried it myself. My dad used to use it every now and again when he got a wild hair to stop smoking. He used it for a few days and always went back to smoking.

[The right way]

My mom uses it too. Not to quit, she did that 7 years ago successfully on a drug that is meant for depression and seems to work for smoking, can't remember the name of it. She has nicotine gum in here purse and if people around her are smoking she wants one too and finds a piece of gum kills the need, probably because of the taste.

[mrrgl]

I ran across this thread while googling "swallowing nicotine" (it was one of the top hits). Just felt I had to post to address what appears to a great deal of misunderstanding of tobacco health risks.

Nicotine isn't very toxic. It disrupts your blood pressure and is highly addictive of course. It is not carcinogenic however.

Tobacco is carcinogenic due to an abundance of other chemical contained therein, primarily PAH's and trace radioactive metals.

With nicotine replacement, you are still addicted to nicotine, but you are avoiding the major health risks associated with smoking/chewing tobacco.

Personally I'm using nicotine lozenges to quit smoking and am finding it very helpful. Nicotine addiction is very real and anything that can help you stop giving yourself lung/mouth/throat cancer is a good thing.

[mary jones]

Originally Posted by mrrgl

I ran across this thread while googling "swallowing nicotine" (it was one of the top hits). Just felt I had to post to address what appears to a great deal of misunderstanding of tobacco health risks.

Nicotine isn't very toxic. It disrupts your blood pressure and is highly addictive of course. It is not carcinogenic however.

Tobacco is carcinogenic due to an abundance of other chemical contained therein, primarily PAH's and trace radioactive metals.

With nicotine replacement, you are still addicted to nicotine, but you are avoiding the major health risks associated with smoking/chewing tobacco.

Personally I'm using nicotine lozenges to quit smoking and am finding it very helpful. Nicotine addiction is very real and anything that can help you stop giving yourself lung/mouth/throat cancer is a good thing.

hey...I agree with you! nicotine can give addictions but is not very dangerous compared to all the other compounds from a smoke. And with "swallowing nicotine" each smoker swallow nicotine when he smokes, and it isn`t dangerous. The nicotine gum contains a large quantity of nicotine, it has a strong taste and if you use it right it can help you to deal with physical addiction, by raising up the nicotine level from your blood...the problem (I think) is the psychic addiction, and with that gum, patches donsen`t help at all. That depend on us

[Squish]

I used the gum while I was in school, not to quit smoking, but to get through 3 hour exams and still be able to think at the end. My addiction is quite heavy and I have no thoughts of quitting. When I used it as directed (chew a few times, stick it in a bucal area, chew again a while later, repeat) I found it helped keep the nicotine levels up enough that I wasn't going through withdrawal in the middle of an exam. They are stressful enough.

As for swallowing, I did a quick google on nicotine poisoning and nicotine gum. According to wikopedia, 40-60 mg is considered dangerous in humans (weight dependant) but the gum only contains 1 or 2 mg of nicotine, depending on strength. In other words, someone would have to swallow 20 to 60 pieces of gum within a short time span to have to start worrying. Now if this were a small child who got a hold of it, this is quite a different story.