When smoked, tobacco delivers nicotine to your blood stream.
Some medications can interact with nicotine to cause a harmful effect.
The most obvious drugs are those that contain nicotine itself. These are medications that are used to help a person quit smoking. The purpose of these drugs is to ease the withdrawal symptoms and the craving for nicotine that occurs when we stop smoking. There are now three types of nicotine products that are available for people quitting smoking. The nicotine patch and nicotine gum are available over the counter.