Can a Nicotine Patch Help With Weight Loss?
The latest wellness trend: Nicotine. Social media influencers are posting viral video clips promoting nicotine patches as simple, low-cost options for losing weight and treating health problems ranging from brain fog and long-COVID to ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Nicotine patches are sold at drugstores, big box stores and online retailers to adults over 18; no prescription is required to purchase the patches. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nicotine patches to help people quit smoking. But can they also be used for weight loss?
Dr. Neil McDevitt, a bariatric surgeon at Novant Health General Surgery & Bariatricsin Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, warns that there is no research about whether patches help with weight loss and limited evidence that nicotine is helpful for other health conditions.
Excerpted from Novant Health
