Does nicotine gum break a fast?

Nicotine gum is a stop-smoking medicine. No calorie figure for nicotine gum was found for this page. A piece of ordinary sugar-free gum has about 5 kcal, and some smaller pieces have about 3 kcal. A sugar-free nicotine gum is likely to sit in the same small range, so treat 5 kcal a piece as an estimate.

On the four goals this site uses to sort answers, nicotine gum is a grey area for weight loss. A few pieces across a fasting morning stay far below the common 50-calorie rule of thumb, which is not an official limit. As a worked example, four pieces at about 5 kcal each add about 20 kcal. The grey comes from the sweet taste, and this site never marks a smoking-related item as safe.

The stricter goals are grey too. Sugar-free gums are sweetened, and some of the sweetener goes down with your saliva. So autophagy and blood sugar get the same grey as sugar-free gum. Whether sweeteners raise insulin is unresolved and may vary between people, and the evidence is early. Gut rest is grey too. If the label lists sugar alcohols such as xylitol or sorbitol, large amounts can have a laxative effect.

Keep using nicotine gum exactly as the packet or your stop-smoking plan says. Never cut down or skip pieces to protect a fast. Staying off cigarettes comes first. Tobacco kills more than 7 million people a year. If cravings and hunger are hard to tell apart during a fast, talk to a pharmacist or doctor about your plan.

Nicotine itself is highly addictive and harmful to health. A pharmacist or doctor can help you plan how to come off the gum in time. Do not fast without medical advice if you are pregnant or under 18.