People on nicotine patches seldom realize the problems that the therapy can cause with their body. Herbal remedies are much safer, since they are made of totally natural derivatives. Here's a comparison between the two. The popularity of nicotine patches as a stop smoking aid is too great. And that is surprising because it is true that nicotine patches are not always effective. In fact, their success rate is quite low. In most probability, people who are using nicotine patches are simply doing so because they are the most convenient-to-use methods, never mind their effectiveness. The only thing one has to do with nicotine patches is to take one of suitable dosage and then affix it on the skin.

However, it must be revealed here how the nicotine patches can be disadvantageous. As their name suggests, nicotine patches do contain nicotine, which is itself is a very dubitable approach to the whole smoke cessation program. It is a point to ponder - how can something that contains nicotine effectively cure a person of a nicotine addiction? How can it be an effective stop smoking aid, in that case?

Medical science is well aware of this limitation of nicotine patches, but still the stop smoking aid prescribed because of their convenience. They contend by saying that nicotine patches are just nicotine; they do not contain tar and carbon monoxide as the cigarettes do. Tar and CO are the main harmful products in the cigarettes, while nicotine is just the addictive substance. Hence, by keeping a person on nicotine patches, they are reducing the craving of the actual cigarette, which is many times more hazardous to health.

However, critics will easily see the loophole in this principle. Keeping a person on nicotine patches in the hope that he or she will never touch a cigarette again is a very foolhardy concept. The person will always remain addicted to nicotine, in effect. Since it is impossible - or rather, impractical - to remain on nicotine patches throughout life, it is quite within the realms of possibility that the person will return to active smoking sometime.

And this has been proved true statistically. A large number of people on nicotine patches were followed up, and it was seen that in the long term, most of them reverted to smoking. Returning back to smoking gravely increased the chances of heart failure in them. Certainly, a nicotine patch is not the stop smoking aid one must choose, in that case.

Then there could be other problems using this stop smoking aid. Nicotine patches are transdermal, i.e. meant to be used on the skin. That could cause irritations in people with sensitive skins. In fact, in some people, the itching could be so severe that they might discontinue its use just to get rid of the discomfort.

So is there anything better and safer than the nicotine patch? Yes, certainly there is! The stop smoking aid to be considered today is certainly the herbal smoke cessation formulation. These contain just herbs - totally natural plant derivatives - that have a host of properties needed for cessation. These herbs can reduce the addiction, help cope with withdrawal symptoms and also flush out the toxins from the body. SmokeRX is a very effective herbal formula that has all these three properties rolled into one stop smoking aid.

There are various forms in which the herbal stop smoking aid is available. The most popular ones are the powders, capsules and pills. There are also herbal cigarettes available, which do not contain any nicotine, but replicate the same taste of cigarettes.

Peter Finch