Good resolutions

For more than ten years, Evonik‘s Pharma Polymers Business Line has been collaborating with a multinational pharmaceutical company that produces nicotine patches. These are available over the counter without prescription from any drugstore. Applied to the skin once a day, the patches maintain a uniform level of nicotine in the body. Evonik’s EUDRAGIT® polymer has the task of releasing nicotine in a controlled manner over a fixed period of time. “It serves as a matrix in which the active ingredient is embedded, and ensures that the nicotine contained in the patch is released at a uniform rate over 16 or 24 hours,” says Dr. Brigitte Skalsky, manager of Global Marketing Pharmaceutical Services in Evonik‘s Coatings and Additives Business Unit and a qualified pharmacist. Nicotine patches are available in three different strengths. The right one to use depends on the daily cigarette consumption.

Patches ease withdrawal symptoms

Statistically speaking, most smokers have already attempted several times to kick the habit with the help of chewing gum, lozenges, nasal sprays, or patches. In almost every case it‘s the withdrawal symptoms that cause the smoker to revert to cigarettes. “Nicotine patches help wean smokers off cigarettes and should ease withdrawal symptoms,” says Brigitte Skalsky. The controlled release of nicotine through the patch has additional advantages: Other harmful substances ingested while smoking are absent, and the supply of nicotine is decoupled from the ingrained addiction.

Success depends on motivation

Which is the best route to success: antismoking programs, relaxation techniques, or books on the subject? And which works fastest? But—regardless of whether you opt for patches, gum, or pep talks—if the motivation‘s lacking, no method or medium will bring success. “You must really want to stop, and feel strong enough to do so at the outset,” says Dr. Christian Thülig, regional marketing manager at the Coatings and Additives Business Unit of Evonik. A supportive environment and a break from old habits are also important. If you‘re used to reaching for a cigarette after a meal as a matter of course, it‘s important to substitute this ritual by another. Busy periods at work or the often stressful pre-Christmas period are not the best time to quit smoking. But the transition from one year to the next, when many people enjoy a shortbreak, is the perfect time for that last cigarette.