Nicotine Gum & Patches uh oh

[Berzerker]

well, aint this curious... A few years ago I quit smoking thanks to nicotine gum. Now my dentist tells me I have a precancerous lesion in my mouth (its a small white patch of gum that feels a bit rough). After quitting I started back up for another reason and then tried to quit again, this time with the patch. One place I put the patch was my back left shoulder, and more recently a freckle in that same location has acquired an irregular shape.

I'm still quitting but I'm gonna do it by gradually reducing my consumption only smoking a cig when the urge is strong and chewing regular gum etc to get over
the less severe urges. But no more nicotine gum or patches for me...

[onodera]

Well, I guess if cigarettes cause lung and throat cancer, why wouldn't other nicotine-rich things cause it too?

[BlackCat]

Nicotine as such doesn't cause cancer - it's the rest of the cigarette that does.

Berzerker's problem could be this :

However, nicotine and the increased cholinergic activity it causes have been shown to impede apoptosis, which is one of the methods by which the body destroys unwanted cells (programmed cell death). Since apoptosis helps to remove mutated or damaged cells that may eventually become cancerous, the inhibitory actions of nicotine may create a more favourable environment for cancer to develop, though this also remains to be proven.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine

[Thue]

How is "impede apoptosis" not "causing cancer"?

[BlackCat]

It doesn't create the cancer cells - just make life easier for them.

[Theben]

well, aint this curious... A few years ago I quit smoking thanks to nicotine gum. Now my dentist tells me I have a precancerous lesion in my mouth (its a small white patch of gum that feels a bit rough). After quitting I started back up for another reason and then tried to quit again, this time with the patch. One place I put the patch was my back left shoulder, and more recently a freckle in that same location has acquired an irregular shape.

I'm still quitting but I'm gonna do it by gradually reducing my consumption only smoking a cig when the urge is strong and chewing regular gum etc to get over
the less severe urges. But no more nicotine gum or patches for me...

Thankfully it's still precancerous. I had a stage 0 growth on my leg removed a few years back. Still no fun to get the news.

Quit cold turkey, dude.

[ZEE]

Quit cold turkey, dude.

thats what I did.. 2-3 weeks and i was good.

of course back then i had barely enough money to pay the bills, was eating tuna out of a can, and on top of it all i lived with a chain smoker that skimped on the bills.

my pride kept me from bumming cigs, and when the lease was up i got the "flock" out of there and the rest is history. I also recently quit drinking. 6 weeks strong woot.

[Dr Strangelove]

How long did you use the gum versus smoking cigarettes? Most smoking cessation programs are only supposed to last a few months. The lesion in your mouth is much more likely to be related to smoking cigarettes than to chewing nicotine gum.

If you're worried about nicotine containing smoking cessation products you could always try Chantix or Zyban. Chantix is a drug that blocks the effect of nicotine on the brain. Zyban is relabelled Wellbutrin, an anti-depressant that seems to help people quit smoking.

[SlowwHand]

I need to get back on the patch. They put one on me in the hospital and I didn't smoke for 3 weeks. I was on my back for 2 of those though, so I don't know that they count.

[Thue]

It doesn't create the cancer cells - just make life easier for them.

It makes cells with errors survive where they would normally naturally have committed suicide. That is creating cancer cells.

[Tuberski]

It makes cells with errors survive where they would normally naturally have committed suicide. That is creating cancer cells.

No, not getting an abortion doesn't cause the birth of a child either.

ACK!

[Thue]

But cell damage is always happening anyway.

A cell is only cancerous if it fails to commit suicide when it is damaged. Hence nicotine is changing a non-cancerous cell into a cancerous cell, by disabling the cell's suicide mechanism. Hence nicotine is creating cancer cells.

[Elok]

If you're worried about nicotine containing smoking cessation products you could always try Chantix or Zyban. Chantix is a drug that blocks the effect of nicotine on the brain. Zyban is relabelled Wellbutrin, an anti-depressant that seems to help people quit smoking.

Frigging Wellbutrin gave me a seizure like ten years ago. My hands still shake occasionally.

[Dr Strangelove]

Frigging Wellbutrin gave me a seizure like ten years ago. My hands still shake occasionally.

Then don't take it!!!!

Slow release Wellbutrin has a much lower rate of seizures.

[rah]

Chantix worked great for me. I've been off cigs for a year now.
But the side effects can be nasty.