While using any form of nicotine replacement therapy – such as gum, patches or lozenges – means you have around a 50% better chance of quitting smoking than when going cold turkey, replacement therapy does have it’s problems. The biggest of these has always been in the cases of particularly heavy smokers, who find the relatively low levels of nicotine used in most replacement therapies to be insufficient. This means their cravings are not dealt with properly and they return to smoking much quicker.

Yet now there is a way of helping heavy smokers through these cravings, using a form of nicotine replacement therapy called the nasal spray. This is easily the most effective form of nicotine replacement therapy, but it is not without it’s risks.

The reasons for the efficacy of the nasal spray are varied, though it is largely attributable to the speed it works at. The nicotine contained in each burst of the spray tends to hit the bloodstream fully within 10 minutes, making it one of the fastest methods of achieving a nicotine burst.

The spray works as a standard pump spray, with a nozzle designed to fit comfortably into the nostrils. When a craving arises, one burst of spray is delivered into each nostril. Each spray contains around 0.5mg of nicotine, meaning a total release of 1mg each time. This roughly equates to the same amount released by smoking one cigarette. As the spray is inhaled, the nicotine is absorbed into the lining of the nostrils and enters the bloodstream extremely quickly. When the nicotine reaches the brain, a “hit” of nicotine akin to that given by a cigarette is experienced. The nasal spray is only one of two methods – the other being the inhalator – to achieve this.

Unfortunately, the nasal spray may well be the most effective method of nicotine replacement, but it also the one fraught with the most risks. Many smokers simply transfer their addiction to the spray rather than cigarettes, and while the spray is far less dangerous than actual smoking, the point of nicotine replacement therapy is to gradually wean a person off nicotine entirely.

There are also side effects associated with the nasal spray, on top of the usual effects associated with nicotine replacement therapy. These include headaches, nasal and sinus irritation and even nosebleeds. However, for heavy smokers who have found that no other form of nicotine replacement therapy is sufficient, the nasal spray is the best chances of completely smoking cessation. The percentage of people who attempt to quit smoking with help from a nasal spray has a success rate of 55%, some 5% higher than other forms of replacement therapy.

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