Nicotine gum and the antidepressant drug bupropion, sold under the trade-name Zyban, also aim to stop smoking. Leischow recommends using the Inhaler for 12 weeks to break the habit. The inhaler serves as a nicotine replacement therapy. It works by delivering small doses of nicotine to satisfy the physical cravings as the smoker tries to quit. But it doesn't have the harmful tars and toxins of cigarettes, said McNeil Consumer Products Co., the Fort Washington, Pa., company that makes the product.
Smokers place a nicotine cartridge inside the mouthpiece of the inhaler, close it and puff on it.
The nicotine turns into a vapor that is absorbed primarily into the mouth and throat, but not the lungs. Leischow said each cartridge contains about 400 puffs, the equivalent of 3-5 cigarettes. Leischow tested the Inhaler on 223 patients, about 20 percent of whom successfully quit smoking. D.C. Nicotine hits the brain within 5-10 seconds. Banzhaf said smokers must tackle two problems, one a physical addiction to nicotine and the other the psychological habits formed when smoking.