Do you recommend nicotine patches to your patients and advise them where to buy nicotine patches of reliable quality at the lowest cost? And, do you give them a prescription for the nicotine patches?
It is extremely important that all clinicians guide and help their patients who smoke tobacco cigarettes to stop. Nicotine replacement therapy is often an important part of the overall treatment plan, and it may involve the use of nicotine patches. In the past, I would only tell patients which milligram strength patch to buy and how long to use it.
With experience, I learned that I should:
– Advise the patient about where to buy them so that they don’t buy nicotine patches that may be of dubious quality
– Provide the patient with a prescription for the nicotine patches, even though they are available without a prescription