The patch can even be worn when showering or bathing. When you wake up, put a fresh patch on clean skin and wear it for a full 24 hours. If you find that you are having vivid dreams or that your sleep is disturbed, you can take the patch off before bed and put a new one on the next morning.

NicoDerm CQ is a nicotine patch that's specially designed to help you quit smoking. It helps prevent the urge to smoke for up to 24 hours with Extended Release SmartControl® Technology. Covers nicotine and helps prevent nicotine evaporation.

do not smoke even when not wearing the patch. The nicotine in your skin will still be entering your bloodstream for several hours after you take off the patch.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that if you have one cigarette while wearing a patch, you can continue to wear the patch safely. Meanwhile, patch manufacturers often state that their products are not designed to be used when smoking cigarettes.

15 cigarettes Determining the patch dose For most people who smoke one pack per day or less, the following is a reasonable starting point: more than 15 cigarettes per day: 21 mg patch (Step 1) seven to 15 cigarettes per day: 14 mg patch (Step 2) fewer than seven cigarettes per day: 7 mg patch (Step 3).

Nicotine Replacement Therapy is safe to use. Quit-smoking medicines containing nicotine (NRTs) do not cause death and diseases like cigarettes do. Most of the dangers of smoking are due to the hundreds of toxic chemicals in the cigarette smoke, not the nicotine.

Using a nicotine medicine will not cause lung disease like smoking. Using a nicotine medicine is much less likely to cause heart disease than continued smoking. If you continue to smoke instead of using NRT, you will still be exposed to the hundreds of harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke.

Nicotine is absorbed from the patch on the skin and enters the blood stream. This replaces the nicotine you would get from smoking and makes the withdrawal effects from not smoking less severe. The amount of nicotine is decreased over time until use is stopped.

Within the first week of using the patch you'll notice that your nicotine withdrawal symptoms will start to diminish. As you stick with your quit plan you should find that your cravings will lessen over time. It takes a few months for breathing to get better and many people feel a little worse the first month.

Overall, 63% of the nicotine patch group successfully quit smoking compared with 34% of the placebo group. In addition, the nicotine patch group showed reduced nicotine dependence and withdrawal symptoms than the placebo group.

Most nicotine patches are made for 24-hour use, says Humberto Choi, MD, a pulmonologist at the Cleveland Clinic. But some people may decide to take the patch off before they go to bed, so they wear it only around 16 hours a day.

Determining the patch dose For most people who smoke one pack per day or less, the following is a reasonable starting point: more than 15 cigarettes per day: 21 mg patch (Step 1) seven to 15 cigarettes per day: 14 mg patch (Step 2) fewer than seven cigarettes per day: 7 mg patch (Step 3).