Oral health and nicotine replacement therapy product

Abstract

Tobacco-related addiction has huge financial implications, not only for the users but also for the public. [1,2] While rates of smoking are declining in 2015, 11.5% of global deaths were attributable to smoking worldwide. [3] A key objective of the Government and all health professionals is to eliminate or to reduce the impact of tobacco usage on the wider population. Current knowledge about tobacco use and its effects has led to the understanding that there is no safe way to use tobacco and that total cessation is imperative to avoid any number of debilitating and eventually fatal conditions. [4] Various methods of achieving cessation have been proposed, including behavioral counseling and pharmacotherapy. The paradigm for cessation has changed over the years with a shift toward viewing addiction as a disease and the contemporary approach toward the management of tobacco addiction centers around a combination of education, counseling, and pharmacotherapy. [5] A method of assisting users in achieving cessation goals has been through the substitution of pure nicotine with tobacco-less products. [6] Nicotine replacement products (NRPs) are the collective name for a range of over-the-counter medications containing pure nicotine, designed to aid users of tobacco products in reducing their intake of such products, or to achieve a total cessation of use. [1,7,8] This pathway reduces the withdrawal symptoms associated with a reduction of intake or total cessation. [1,7,8] The use of nicotine substitution through one or more NRPs to aid cessation of tobacco use is termed as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and in the contemporary setting is considered as first-line therapy for smoking cessation.NRT products are available in many different forms for consumers, including chewing gums, [9] lozenges or mints, [10] inhalers, [11] patches, [12] and vaporizers (also called E-cigarettes or Electronic cigarettes). [13] Nicotine drinks, straws, and lollipops are other developed and marketed products. [14] These products are available in varying strengths of nicotine based on the tobacco user's habitual intake or "stage of quitting." Except for nicotine patches (where nicotine is absorbed transdermally) and nasal sprays (where nicotine is absorbed through nasal mucosa), all other forms of NRP deliver nicotine