Monday December 18, 2000

Kicking The Habit

A lot of smokers use nicotine chewing gum to give up cigarettes. Turns out some of them are just trading one habit for another. We have the story in today's RXtra report.

Ex-lovers Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow are locking lips again, this time in the new romantic comedy bounce. But Gwyneth has another problem besides boyfriend battles… she's an addict.

She says, "I got hooked on the gum then I got tmg for the chewing. This is just to get me off the gum. I'm ten days off the gum."

Gwyneth's addiction was based on movie director Don Roos' own battles when he chose to chew to help kick his 20 year smoking habit. He says, "It took me a long time to quit. I went on the patch to get off the gum."

Writer Madeline Sunshine smoked cigarettes for 25 years and loved every minute of it. She says, "I was a fabulous smoker. I looked right with a cigarette. Everything about it was right for me except cancer."

The gum helped Madeline end her love affair with cigarettes six years ago. Instead of puffing for pleasure she chews almost 50 pieces of gum a day.

She says, "It's far better than smoking. It doesn't disturb others, it's certainly more socially acceptable to smoke than chomp!"

And she's not chewing alone. You're only supposed to chew the gum for three to six months. But studies show 5 to 10 percent of people do it for more than a year. So why is the gum habit so hard to kick? Researchers say, like a cigarette, gum delivers nicotine immediately, faster than the patch, inhalers and nasal sprays.

Here's what doctors suggest you do. Wean yourself off the gum slowly, even possibly switching to the patch. And don't chew longer than a few months. A support group is always recommended. As for Madeline she's still chomping but warns others, "I would recommend it with a warning do exactly what it says on the label don't want to continue chewing and use it very sparingly don't do what I did."

Nicotine gum is another habit you don't want to get stuck on. By the way... Madeline says she saves a lot of money, buying her nicotine gum on the Internet.