By Aila Kate I. Moreno
To start the National No Smoking Month and celebrate World No Tobacco Day, Johnson & Johnson Philippines introduced Nicorette to inspire smokers to #JoinTheQuitters.
Nicorette Philippines organized a virtual event aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO)’s theme for the World No Tobacco Day 2021, “Commit to quit” last May 31. The event aims to motivate Filipino smokers to quit smoking permanently.
The event was streamed through Facebook live and was attended by over 700 people nationwide. Some participants were quitters who shared their quitting journeys and smokers who pledged a healthier lifestyle on the comment section.
Quitters are the real winners
Quit ambassadors Troy Montero and IC Mendoza talked about their journey from being smokers to quitters.
Montero said that curiosity and peer pressure led him to start smoking. As for Mendoza, he thought that smoking looked “cool” on television and movies back then so he tried it.
Montero and Mendoza shared a common motivation as to why they stopped smoking – their family and health.
“Quitting smoking is not a journey that is meant to be done alone,” said Mendoza, who chose to celebrate each month of being smoke-free on social media. His posts gained praise from people that inspired him to live healthily and focus on self-care.
Meanwhile, pursuing a healthy lifestyle and fatherhood made Montero quit smoking. “I need to set a good example,” he said.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Dr. Joel Santiaguel, a fellow of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians, emphasized that people must “commit to quit, not to shift [to vaping or other smoking alternatives].”
Alongside willpower and psychological support, Dr. Santiaguel suggested Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to smokers to assist them in reducing the urge to smoke and decreasing their withdrawal symptoms.
“NRTs have been proven effective by several global studies for many years. How it works is that it replaces your supply of nicotine without making yourself vulnerable to the harmful chemicals found in a cigarette. Over time and regular use, it will ease you out of your nicotine dependence and eventually stop the craving for another stick,” he said.
Nicorette (Nicotine Polacrifex) is a medicated chewing gum that acts as an NRT sold at PhP 240.00 for a pack of 15 pieces. Nicorette is an over-the-counter drug, which means it no longer requires a doctor’s prescription.
In celebration of National No Smoking Month, Nicorette is on sale for 20% off on all Mercury Drug stores nationwide throughout the whole month of June. It is also available in all leading drugstores nationwide and online.
(The author is a Communication and Media Studies student of UP Visayas)
