What is Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)?

When you quit smoking, you might experience withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, cravings, mood swings and irritability. If you have a strong, physical addiction to nicotine, NRT could be a good option for you. Find out how strong your addiction is by completing our quiz.

NRT is a type of stop smoking medication that include patches, gum, mouth spray, lozenges and inhalators. These are designed to replace some of the nicotine you would normally get from cigarettes to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

To give you the best chance of success, it's important to understand how different types of NRT work before you try them. You can read more about NRT by downloading the Stop Smoking Medications Guide or watching this video below from Don't Make Smokes Your Story:

You can also chat with your GP or pharmacist for advice on NRT and how to use them. This is especially important if you have any existing health issues or would like to try combination therapy (multiple NRT at once).

Are you are worried that NRT is too expensive? It can be hard to make the switch from spending your ciggie money on boxes of patches that could make you feel a uncomfortable in the short-term. However, with a prescription from a doctor or finding products on special, you can pay as little as $1-$1.50/day for certain products. This is similar to the average cost of a single cigarette. Have you calculated how much money you'll be rolling in once you quit for good?

For more videos on NRT, visit the Quit Victoria YouTube page. Learn about other stop smoking medications here.

Remember: Stop smoking medications are most effective for physical addictions to smoking. Habits (e.g. smoking while drinking), as well as emotions (e.g. stress), are common triggers to smoke. You can plan strategies to combat these triggers.