Nicotine inhaled from smoking tobacco is highly addictive. But it is primarily the toxins and carcinogens in tobacco smoke – not the nicotine – that cause illness and death. The best way to reduce these illnesses and deaths is to stop smoking – ideally, stopping in one step (sometimes called ‘abrupt quitting’). (See the NICE pathway on smoking)
However, there are other ways of reducing the harm from smoking, even though this may involve continued use of nicotine. This guidance is about helping people, particularly those who are highly dependent on nicotine.