Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) - An Approach to Quit Tobacco

Tobacco craving and withdrawal symptoms could be controlled by providing smokers with nicotine from an alternative source. Pure nicotine is not easy to deliver, as nicotine is an unstable compound. Various nicotine delivery forms were tested, and a chewing gum formulation in which nicotine was bound to a resin (to prevent the drug from being released too quickly) was launched as the first NRT product - Nicorette(R) Gum - in the global market in 1978. Continued development resulted in the introduction of the Nicorette(R) Patch in 1992, Nicorette(R) NasalSpray (1994), Nicorette(R) Inhalator (1996) and Nicorette(R) sublingual tablet (1998). The name Nicorette(R) derives from nicotine delivered in the 'right' (= r tt, in Swedish) way.