WO2001080672A1

WO2001080672A1 - Method of reducing or quitting smoking

Info

Publication number: WO2001080672A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/012994
Authority: WO
Inventors: Brian Feinstein
Original assignee: Natural Answers, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-04-25
Filing date: 2001-04-23
Publication date: 2001-11-01
Also published as: AU2001253753A1

Abstract

This invention provides a method of providing a package for a nonsmokable smoking cessation product contained in a package that has the physical and visual elements of a cigarette package. The package is manipulated by a smoker in order to provide the sensory gratification to the user usually achieved by manipulating a cigarette pack.

Description

TITLE: METHOD OF REDUCING OR QUITTING SMOKING

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to herbal supplements, and more particularly to a method of reducing or quitting smoking.

Over the last few decades, people have begun to realize the dangers of smoking cigarettes. Studies that have come out over the past years show that smoking can cause several diseases and ailments, such as lung cancer, emphysema, throat cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and complications with pregnancy. As a result of these findings, many smokers wish to quit smoking. However, because of the addictive nature of nicotine, many smokers need assistance in the quitting process. To this end, there exist several methods for reducing or quitting smoking.

Generally, these methods involve obtaining some level of nicotine without smoking a cigarette. There are many examples of such products.

One such method of quitting smoking involves wearing a patch on the smoker's arm, which delivers a constant stream of nicotine into the body. This method does not provide the smoker the sensory gratification obtained by manipulating and retrieving a cigarette from a cigarette pack, carrying a cigarette pack, and satisfying the psychological need of having a cigarette pack on his person. Further, the oral fixation that smokers have from a cigarette is not met. Finally, this method is not the most desirable method in which to quit, because the user is still receiving levels of nicotine, which is highly addictive. Another method of quitting smoking involves using chewing gum that contains nicotine. However, the psychological attachment and security of having and manipulating a cigarette shaped box is not satisfied with this method. This method does have the advantage of somewhat satisfying a smoker's oral fixation for a cigarette, but it delivers harmful nicotine to the smoker's body. Another method of quitting smoking involves using a nicotine inhaler, shaped somewhat like a typical cigarette. Although this method has the advantage of somewhat satisfying a smoker's oral fixation for a cigarette, it fails to provide a cigarette shaped box that satisfies the psychological need to carry the box, and it still delivers nicotine to the smoker's body.

Another method of quitting smoking involves implanting a device in the smoker's body that constantly emits low levels of nicotine. This invention fails for the same reasons that nicotine patches fail, because they do not satisfy the user's oral fixation, psychological needs, and because they provide a harmful substance to the human body.

A final method of quitting smoking involves taking prescription drugs to dull the desire for nicotine ingestion. This method has the disadvantage of not providing the sensory gratification achieved by manipulation of a cigarette pack and not providing the psychological satisfaction associated with carrying a cigarette shaped pack. This method has the advantage of not providing the harmful substance of nicotine to the human body, although it is supplying a man made drug to the user.

None of the above methods of quitting or reducing smoking are delivered in packages shaped and constructed like cigarette packages. A cigarette shaped package delivers the smoking cessation product in a familiar form to the smoker, thereby satisfying the smoker's need to have a cigarette package in his or her possession. Finally, the simple act of carrying around the package designed like a cigarette package helps to curb the smoker's desire for a cigarette. Smokers have several psychological hurdles to overcome during the quitting smoking process. Besides having to overcome inhaling smoke into the lungs, a smoker must deal with the psychological need to carry a cigarette pack, to manipulate a cigarette pack, to satisfy the oral fixation associated with smoking. Therefore, a method for quitting smoking is needed that provides the smoker with the sensory gratification associated with carrying and manipulating a cigarette pack, that satisfies the oral fixation of the smoker, that is delivered in a manner clearly familiar to a smoker, and that allows the smoker to deal with only one psychological barrier: actually inhaling a cigarette.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of assisting a user of cigarettes to reduce or quit smoking. To achieve these and other objects of the invention that will become apparent to those skilled in the art, this invention provides a method of providing a package for a nonsmokable smoking cessation product contained in a package that has the physical and visual elements of a cigarette package. The package is manipulated by a smoker in order to provide the sensory gratification to the user usually achieved by carrying and manipulating a cigarette pack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention of this apparatus will be described in detail below in connection with the drawings in which: Figure 1 is a flow chart detailing the steps of the method of this patent;

Figure 2 is a flow chart detailing the manipulation step of this patent using a FLIP- TOP® package;

Figure 3 is a flow chart detailing the manipulation step of this patent using a soft pack; Figure 4 is perspective view of a package used in the method, which represents a cigarette FLIP-TOP® box; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a package with the attributes of a cigarette soft- pack package.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Particularly preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the drawings, with Fig. 1 illustrating a preferable method for reducing or quitting smoking. The method begins by performing step 2, providing a package for a nonsmokable smoking cessation product. This nonsmokable smoking cessation product can be any product designed to assist a smoker in the process of quitting smoking, but it is preferably an herbal lozenge that stimulates the user's senses and curbs the desire to smoke a cigarette. This package conveniently has the physical and visual elements of a cigarette package and may be either a FLIP-TOP® box 4 or a soft-pack package 5. The user then performs a manipulating step 8, which is similar to the manipulation performed by a smoker to a cigarette package, in order to complete the method at step 10, providing sensory gratification through the delivery of a smoking cessation product.

Preferably, a FLIP-TOP® box 4 may be used to perform the method of this invention. Suitably, such a FLIP-TOP® box 4 has an outer wrapper 12, an inner foil wrapper 14, and at least one smoking cessation product 6 disposed inside said package.

Looking to Figs. 2 and 4, when a FLIP -TOP® box 4 is used the manipulation step 8 is performed in the following manner. First, the user conveniently performs a packing step 18 of said FLIP-TOP® box. This packing step 18 comprises striking the top of the FLIP -TOP® box 4 against a hard object like the user's wrist or a table top, for example. The user then performs step 20, removing the outer wrapper 12, and step 22, removing the inner wrapper 14. The user then performs step 24, obtaining at least one smoking cessation product 6, disposed inside said package. As stated above, this smoking cessation product is preferably an herbal lozenge, and it is suitably delivered in a blister pack, which is commonly known in the art. A user simply punches the lozenge out of the blister pack. At step 25, the user suitably places the package in a safety zone. Frequently, smokers are comforted by simply having a cigarette package in a safety zone. For example, this safety zone can be a pocket, purse, shirt sleeve, or any other suitable place. This completes the method at step 10, providing sensory gratification through the delivery of a smoking cessation product.

Looking at Figs. 3 and 5, the method of this invention can alternatively be performed with a soft pack 5. Preferably, the manipulation step 8 when using the soft pack 5 is performed in the following manner. First, the user performs a packing step 26 on the soft pack 5. Then the user performs a removing step 28 of the outer wrapper 16 of the soft pack 5. The user performs an obtaining step 30 of at least one smoking cessation product 6 disposed inside said package 5. As in the hard box method, the smoking cessation product is preferably an herbal lozenge delivered in a blister pack. At step 32 the user preferably places the package in a safety zone, as is done at step 25 in the method utilizing a hard box. The result of the method performed using either package 4 or package 5 is to complete the step of providing sensory gratification 10 through the delivery of a smoking cessation product.

While the foregoing describes particularly preferred embodiments of the method of this invention, it is to be understood that these embodiments are illustrative only of the principals of this invention and are not to be considered limitative thereof. Because numerous variations and modifications of the apparatus and method of this invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art, the scope of this invention is to be limited solely by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

What is Claimed Is:

1. A method of assisting a user of cigarettes to reduce or quit smoking, such method comprising the steps of: providing a package for a nonsmokable smoking cessation product, said package having the physical and visual elements of a cigarette package; and said user manipulating said package similarly to the manipulation performed by a smoker to a cigarette package in order to provide sensory gratification to said user by delivering a smoking cessation product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said package contains component parts of a cigarette FLIP -TOP® box , comprising: an outer wrapper; an inner foil wrapper; and at least one smoking cessation product disposed inside said package.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said package contains component parts of a cigarette soft package, comprising: an outer wrapper; and at least one smoking cessation product disposed inside said package.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein said manipulating step further comprises said user packing said package.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein said manipulating step further comprises said user removing said outer wrapper.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein said manipulating step further comprises said user removing said inner wrapper.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein said manipulating step further comprises said user obtaining at least one smoking cessation product disposed inside said package.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said obtaining step further comprises said user punching out an herbal lozenge from a blister pack.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein said method further comprises the step of placing said package in said user's safety zone.

10. A method according to claim 3, wherein said manipulating step further comprises said user packing said package.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said manipulating step further comprises said user removing said outer wrapper.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein said manipulating step further comprises said user obtaining at least one smoking cessation product disposed inside said package.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein said obtaining step further comprises said user punching out an herbal lozenge from a blister pack.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein said method further comprises the step of placing said package in said user's safety zone.