# Why can't I cut nicoderm patches in half? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099 "2004-03-18T22:29:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfsbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wolfsbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfsbane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/1 "2004-03-18T22:29:06Z")
Trying to qit smoking here. A friend gave me a dozen 21 mg (the strongest) nicotine patches. I am thinking I will only need the strongest ones for the first few days. After that, you’re supposed to drop down to 14 mg, then 7 mg. Only thing is these things are expensive as hell (over $40 per pack). I did some research on the net, all the literature on these patches warns not to cut patches in half or into smaller pieces. My question is: why not? What would be the harm? Or would it render the pieces useless somehow? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/2 "2004-03-18T22:46:29Z")
I imagine they’re timed delivery. You’ll get half of 21 milligrams, but twice as fast. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/3 "2004-03-18T23:00:48Z")
It is a SIN to cut nicoderm parches in half. You will go to HELL if you do it. You probably get some loss of nicotine out the open side of the cut, so that a 21 cut in half is more like 8 than 11.5, plus the bit of ooze that leaks is toxic, and could shoot into your system faster than intended. That said, my wife cut her patches in half, and they worked fine; course she started smoking again in 6 months… As with all non-approved medical procedures, **you** assume the risk. The company didn’t apply for approval from the FDA for half patches, and thus half patches are NOT proven “safe and effective.” ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/4 "2004-03-18T23:02:54Z")
From [here](http://www.dental-professional.com/faqs.asp?SubjectID=11): > [@](#): > > NicoDerm CQ® provides a unique therapeutic approach to smoking cessation. The NicoDerm CQ patch is designed to provide the fastest delivery of medicine in a dosage form that maintains its effectiveness for a full 24 hours. The availability of enough medicine to fight your cravings and provide 24 hours of treatment can be compromised if the patch is cut in half. Extensive clinical testing has established the appropriate amounts of nicotine to be included in each of the three “steps” of NicoDerm CQ®. Cutting any of the patches in half is not recommended as it may alter the controlled release. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/5 "2004-03-18T23:41:26Z")
It is not only nicoderm but other drugs as well. They say the same thing about the Scop patch for seasickness. It seems the patch is made in a certain way and if you cut it then the stuff just oozes out the cut side and does not permeate through the patch as it is supposed to. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/6 "2004-03-19T03:29:18Z")
> [@wolfsbane](#): > > Trying to qit smoking here. A friend gave me a dozen 21 mg (the strongest) nicotine patches. I am thinking I will only need the strongest ones for the first few days. After that, you’re supposed to drop down to 14 mg, then 7 mg. Only thing is these things are expensive as hell (over $40 per pack). When I used Nicoderm, the instructions were to use the full strength patches for 6 week (not a few days), then 2 weeks on medium strength, then 2 weeks with the weakest strength. As far as the expense goes, remember that the idea is that you won’t have to spend any money on cigarettes, so financially the patches are a big win IF they work. So it’s in your interest to be sure that they do work for you, so you should maximize the chance of them working by using them the way you’re supposed to. There’s no point in saving $20 by cutting them in half if the result is that you return to smoking afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/7 "2004-03-19T04:19:31Z")
Here’s Alza’s (used in nicoderm) first patent on nicotine transdermal patches: [5,004,610 (April 91)](http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/search-bool.html&r=7&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=ptxt&s1=alza&s2=nicotine.TTL.&OS=alza+AND+TTL/nicotine&RS=alza+AND+TTL/nicotine) The patch consists of a backing, a nicotine reservoir, a diffusion rate limiting membrane, and a glue that holds the patch to the skin. When you cut a patch in half, you cut the reservoir open, and break the membrane’s seal to the backing on one side. If the reservoir were liquid, it’d all run out when you cut the patch. However, the reservoir appears to be a gel of some sort. This means that the nicotine wont all ooze out at once. However, you’ve still got a hole in the reservoir from which nicotine can escape, and an open path around the membrane through which nicotine can reach the skin at an uncontrolled rate. How well a cut patch performs depends on the viscosity of the reservoir gel, how hard, and in what direction, you rub the patch when you put it on, and how much of a fluid path develops around the missing membrane seal. Alza has probably tested all these variables, and dozens more, but they’re not about to tell us what their results were. That could cut into profits. ---
**Author:** ![Adoptamom\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Adoptamom\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adoptamom_II)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/8 "2004-03-19T04:42:56Z")
Without knowing all of the warnings the previous posters have shared, I cut a patch in half to extend the life and save a few bucks. This was eight years ago, and frankly I thought I was going to die a slow and horrid death as a result. My heart started racing, my entire body flushed, I was sweating profusely and couldn’t stop vomiting. It appears that when I cut the patch that allowed the nicotene to be released almost all at once rather than time released. Don’t do it! ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/9 "2004-03-19T04:43:21Z")
If you smoke more than 1 pack a day, you probably need the 21mg patch. The way you can modify how much nicotine you receive is to only wear them during waking hours. I don’t know anyone who smokes while sleeping, so why you need a 24-hour nicotine infusion beats me. I guess it’s to keep the cravings at bay when you wake up. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/10 "2004-03-19T09:04:35Z")
> [@Cillasi](#): > > I don’t know anyone who smokes while sleeping, so why you need a 24-hour nicotine infusion beats me. I guess it’s to keep the cravings at bay when you wake up. Exactly. Especially for heavy smokers who have a strong craving for nicotine when they wake up. Been there, done that. It makes a difference. Though now, they sell 16 hours patches intended to be removed when you go to sleep, I wouldn’t advise those. ---
**Author:** ![rogofam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e495f1/32.png) [@rogofam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogofam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/11 "2012-05-15T13:34:11Z")
You should be able to pull only half the backing off the patch. You would be effectively being exposed to 1/2 the patch with not cutting the membrane. The next day you could remove the other 1/2 and use the same patch. Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/12 "2012-05-15T13:40:24Z")
When I was giving up smoking, I cut patches in half. I had no problems. There’s no “membrane” - at least not on the ones I used. ---
**Author:** ![Qwakkeddup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Qwakkeddup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwakkeddup)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/13 "2012-05-15T14:05:02Z")
Cold turkey on my 5th week here, I have seen people using the patches, too much wiggle room for abuse. My wife would take the patch off, then smoke a cigarette, she was just using them to get through work/ school where she couldn’t smoke. My Mother on the other hand, would smoke while wearing the patch. It only takes three days for your body to clear the nicotine. Kicking the habit is the hard part and the patches don’t really help with that. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/14 "2012-05-15T14:12:47Z")
You don’t cut the patch in half. That’s completely ineffective. Both halves will still come crawling after you. You need to shoot the patch in the head. Twice, if possible (zombie thread). Patches are about the same cost as a similar number of packs. I guess if you don’t smoke a pack a full pack a day then the math may be off. But the savings in the long run are so worth it, a bit more on the front end to make it count will pay for itself many times over. The Patch isn’t a panacea. Of course people ‘cheat’ while wearing it. But it really does cut wayyy down on the instant jones and pressing need for a smoke. The hand/cultural habit is still there, but it helps let you concentrate on one aspect of quitting at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/15 "2012-05-15T14:14:45Z")
This is a controlled release thread. ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/16 "2012-05-15T14:15:16Z")
I assume at some point in the last 8 years that wolfsbane has figured it out for him/herself. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/17 "2012-05-15T14:31:31Z")
Actually, current recommendations are a two-level system. You wear the patch to keep a maintenance-level dose of nicotine in your system, and then use an instant-dose method (e.g., gum, lozenges, inhaler) when you get a craving. Plus, of course, all the other stuff to break the physical/emotional/mental habits of smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/18 "2012-05-15T14:32:06Z")
It’s weird reading this without looking at the date then seeing Q.E.D reply. ---
**Author:** ![Seydell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Seydell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seydell)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/19 "2012-05-15T15:09:28Z")
When I quit smoking I cut patches in half with no ill effects (both Nicoderm and CVS brands). ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099/20 "2012-05-15T16:27:31Z")
Why is Q.E.D.s link sourced from a dental website? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-cut-nicoderm-patches-in-half/235099.md?page=2)