Patients are instructed to use 1 piece of gum every 1-2 hours for the first 6 weeks and then reduce their use to 1 piece every 2-4 hours for the next 3 weeks and finally to 1 piece every 4-8 hours for the 3 weeks after that. In highly dependent smokers, the 4-mg gum is superior to the 2-mg gum. Because about 50% of the nicotine in gum is absorbed, a smoker who is on a fixed schedule of 10 pieces per day will receive a daily nicotine dose of about 10 mg with the 2-mg gum and 20 mg with the 4-mg gum.