Want to quit smoking? Just rub your hands

Handy helper

For smokers who have tried everything to stop, something new might just do the trick. It is a revolutionary new gel that you rub on your hands, like liquid soap from the dispenser, which could help puffers cut down on the habit or even stop.

The makers of Nicogel say that just a few applications a day give smokers the kick they get from cigarettes without the damage tobacco does. The odourless gel dries in under a minute, leaves on residue and is made from natural extracts of tobacco leaves. Treated to remove much of the nicotine, Nicogel is essentially a gel-based cigarette. The product was initially designed as a cigarette substitute for smokers to use in non-smoking environments. The makers then found that after using Nicogel for a while, some smokers quit the habit entirely, and now it's also marketed as an aid to stop smoking.

"Our gel contains only purified nicotine, which is only one component of the tobacco plant," says biochemist Dr John Walters. "We take the whole plant and put it through a pressurised extraction process to strip out most of the nicotine. What's left is all the other active constituents in tobacco, such as cotinine, thought to be responsible for suppressing cravings in the brain."

Walters says the company is marketing Nicogel as a cigarette replacement product. "But if it helps people quit, then even better."

Copyright International Communications May 2006
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