As the name aptly implies, a nicotine patch is an adhesive patch that's impregnated with nicotine so that when the patch is attached to a persons' skin [usually the upper arm], nicotine will be absorbed into the bloodstream via the skin, giving the person the addictive euphoria etc that would normally be gained from smoking a cigarette.
Ever since the powers-that-be and us ordinary joes have been educated about the terrifying ill-effects caused by smoking, there has been some serious effort, investigations and funding for sourcing various aids and products for helping people give up smoking.
If not the most dominant, then at least one of the most dominant products to have been introduced a few decades back is the nicotine patch. There are a variety of different types and there are plenty of people who assert to have successfully quit smoking for good as a result of their use.
So what do they do - how do they work?
A nicotine patch will ensure you satisfy your nicotine craving without the need to actually smoke a cigarette, so you won't be sucking down all the tar, carbon monoxide and other toxic things your poor lungs would normally have to cope with.
The general governing idea behind the nicotine patch is that you'll overcome the oral fixation of needing a cigarette in your mouth and then you can take the next step of slowly but surely weaning yourself off the nicotine patches as well.
Still, nicotine is a toxin. It's dangerous and addictive and will have an adverse effect on your heart and your brain which of course means that although it'll help stop you sucking a cigarette, wearing a patch is just not going to prevent all of the health-destroying effects of smoking.
And as is often the case, when you actually start cutting down on the use of patches, you start feeling the old cravings again and there's only two ways of fixing that - employ a nicotine patch or have a cigarette again.
A person returning to smoking is very common because it appears as though that's the easiest option and the nicotine patches are simply "just not the same".
So, although they're probably better than absolutely nothing when it comes to an aid for stopping smoking and people will often attest to them being supportive, nicotine patches are still not the ideal thing for a lot of heavy smokers who want to quit completely and forever.
In summary; nicotine patches are simply not always the helpful aid that they initially appear to be but there are alternative products that'll help and even though you're bound to find it a little tough at first, being able to kick the habit is much easier than you think