The gum aids in breaking the cigarette habit while sustaining the nicotine level and then provides a gradual reduction in the dependence on nicotine by reducing the use of the gum. Side effects of gum use include dizziness, nausea and jaw muscle ache. There have also been rare cases of overdosing. Like nicotine gum, the treatment administers nicotine in diminishing doses, and should be used in conjunction with some sort of behavior modification program. Nicotine patches also may have side effects.
Some people experience itching and burning around the patch, headaches, nausea and shakiness.
Recently, moreover, five heart attack patients wearing patches were brought into a Massachusetts hospital. An investigation found that they had been wearing the patch and smoking as well - four of them two packs of cigarettes a day. Since the amounts combined from each source constituted a massive overdose of highly toxic nicotine, the patients' reaction was not surprising but the incident underlines the extreme danger of using the patch and continuing to smoke. Similarly, nicotine reduction filters such as One Step at a Time, intended to allow smokers to gradually reduce their nicotine intake have not been proved to be a successful method of cessation. The major problem with filter products is that the smoker tends to continue smoking at the lower levels of nicotine reduction rather than achieving total abstinence.