I have been trying to quit smoking for the past 18 months. A friend of mine once said, "Be a nonsmoker that smokes occasionally." I have had some success in my ongoing battle against the evil weed, and am beginning to think of myself as an expert on "how to quit smoking for a week or more and then start again." I guess if I added the time I stopped and compared it to the time I smoked (over the last 18 months of course) I would be sitting at about 50/50.
My longest stint was back when I started my weblog (about 14 weeks) and my shortest is 1 day (multiple times) I am currently on my second week of my most recent attempt (I fell off the wagon at my Friday Night Poker game and had 1 on Saturday)
Through experience I have found that the cold turkey method leaves me on the edge of social disaster and by day 2, I am incredibly irritable and almost anything makes me go ballistic. To combat this I have found the "Transdermal Nicotine Patch"
works incredibly well, it "takes the edge off". I always use the 14mg patch and discontinue use after I have 4 or 5 days under my belt. It seems to be a good idea to have a supply on hand so I can get back on track if/when I slip.
This leads me to the topic of my post. I just finished an exhaustive search online looking for the cost of manufacturing a patch with no luck. The best price I could find was $17.99 for a box of 7. On the high end $29.99 for a box of 7. I wanted to know the cost to see how much of the price is Tax. The cost of a pack of smokes is heavily taxed, are patches? While surfing, I came across a lot of people complaining about the cost of a box of patches. The rebuttal to this argument was that they are less expensive that a pack of smokes. This may be true if you divide the cost of a box of patches by the number in the box and compare it to a pack of smokes but…. A pack of smokes costs about 7 bucks. A box of patches cost about 20 bucks. This is not the same. Also you can buy smokes almost anywhere. Patches are only available in drugstores and places like Walmart. Another question that came to mind "Why can't you buy 1 patch?" If I could go to the corner store and have a choice between a pack of smokes for $7 or a Patch for $5, I just might buy the patch! Another thing that really pisses me off about the patch is the amount of crap inside every box. First off it’s a huge waist of packaging, also every box has a 26 page "support guide" included. I mean how many of these things do I need? Why are they in the step 3 boxes? You are suppose to be in the FINAL phase of quitting and know the stuff in the book by now. Could they not lower the cost of the product and omit the stupid book? This leads me to the "Important Safety Information" What a bunch of bureaucratic bullshit this is. Anyone who buys these things is a smoker, period. There is no recreational drug benefit from patches. People do not go and buy them to party with. Let’s examine some of the content of this Safety Information.
Keep new or used patches out of the reach of children and pets. - Common sense? How often does your dog eat your smokes? Whats more interesting to a kid - smokes and a pack of matches or a box?
Never wear more than one patch at a time? Duh. Are smokers that stupid?
Do you have any other medical conditions?
- a recent heart attack – probably caused by smokes
- Heart disease – caused by smoking
- Recent stroke – smoking cause this
- Skin diseases – or lung cancer pick one?
- Known allergy to the patches or to nicotine – allergy to nicotine. This is so stupid I want to scream.
- If you are pregnant or breast-feeding – better to…..smoke????
- Do not use transdermal nicotine patches if you are under 18 years of age. – you mean you can’t use the patch to quit if you’re under 18????
PEOPLE WHO BUY THIS PRODUCT SMOKE AND ARE TRYING TO QUIT!
In conclusion: I think the Feds need to give their head a shake. To require this much info in a box of patches and not in a pack of cigarettes??? Smokes should come in a huge box with a booklet and a huge warning pamphlet. Why not only sell them in selected places and make it impossible to buy anything less than a carton. Maybe its time they should spend more money on subsidizing the cost of patches and less on those stupid 1-800 help lines. (Does anyone really call them?)
My rant is done, time for another patch. 
