Nicotine Nasal Sprays & Nicotine Inhalers

Secondhand smoke, involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers from other people’s, responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually in U.S. nonsmokers.

Nicotine Nasal Spray

Nicotine nasal spray became available by prescription in March 1996. It comes in a pump bottle and is sprayed into the nose, one time in each nostril. If you decide to use the spray, it’s important not to inhale while spraying because you want the nicotine to attach to the nasal lining.
Once it’s on the nasal lining, it can be absorbed into the bloodstream. If you inhale through your nose while spraying, the nicotine will end up in your throat and you will swallow it. Any swallowed nicotine doesn’t work because the acids in your stomach destroy it.
Start by using 8 to 40 doses, which is 16 to 80 sprays each day. Each bottle contains about 200 sprays, so you will be using one-quarter to one-half a bottle each day. You can use the spray up to five times an hour. You’ll taper the number of sprays over a period of about three months, but you may find that you need to go for a longer period of time.
The most common complaints about using the nicotine nasal spray are nasal, sinus, and eye irritation. People with asthma should use another method because the spray may trigger an attack. People with allergies should also use another method because a stuffy nose blocks the nicotine in the spray from being absorbed into your body.

Nicotine Inhaler

There is also a nicotine inhaler available by prescription. It works in the same way that the other nicotine products work, except that the inhaler directly places the medication in the lungs, which gets the nicotine into the bloodstream more quickly and in larger doses.
The inhaler is shaped like a cigarette and is made out of plastic. It’s held between the fingers and puffed on. There are tiny little cartridges in the plastic inhaler that contain the nicotine. As you inhale, air passes through the cartridges. This air turns the nicotine in those cartridges into a vapor.
The vapor is inhaled into your lungs and absorbed into your bloodstream. These inhalers provide you with the nicotine but leave out the harmful tars, carbon monoxide, and smoke of a cigarette.
Each nicotine cartridge provides about 20 minutes of active puffing. This adds up to about 80 deep puffs or 300 shallow puffs. If you don’t use up an entire cartridge, the nicotine will still be there, so you can use it again later. People who use this method typically use 6 to 16 cartridges a day. The dose is then slowly tapered over 6 to 12 weeks.
Just like the other nicotine replacement products, the nicotine inhaler can be used for longer than several months if needed. Some people reduce usage over six months.