[widget id=”ad_unit-10″]ad_unit-10[/widget]So you want to quit smoking using the patch. But when you go to buy a box of patches you see they come in different strengths. (Usually a 7mg, 14mg, 21mg patches). So how do you pick the right dose of nicotine patch for you?
The answer is that you must first assess your level of dependence on nicotine. You can use the Fagerström Test to measure your level of nicotine addiction. (To take this test click here).
The Fagerström Test test is for cigarette smoking but could be easily modified for chewing tobacco or snuff too.
After taking the test you would be selected into one of three groups: highly addicted, moderately addicted and minimally addicted.
If you are highly addicted you start with the highest level of nicotine patch dose. If you are minimally addicted you start at the lowest dose. And finally for moderate addiction you go for some mid-level dose.
After a few days you lower the dose of nicotine in a step wise manner until you are free of nicotine and quit smoking all together.