It was actually yrs ago when my colon and rectom surgeon told me about
the positive effects of smoking and inflammation in the colon (be it from crohns or ulcerative colitis) and he told me not to quit...I quit around 6 yrs ago, and went through extra hell with my crohns-colitis (crohns affecting my colon), I started again and it helped things calm down some again.
Guess bottom line is each person has to weigh the pros with the cons...I choose to continue with smoking, 6/day is better then a pack a day which is what I used to smoke.
see this link regarding the carbon moxide helping shut down inflammatory responses in the colon....
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/35173.php
So I don't see how using the gum or patches can even work.
:)