Most drugs are taken orally. Dosage intervals may be inconvenient. Some drugs are partly destroyed or neutralized in the stomach, intestine or liver before reaching the bloodstream. Accordingly, a higher dose is needed to ensure efficacy, which in turn may increase the risk of side effects.

To counter these limitations and to improve patient compliance, drug companies have introduced patches. Unlike oral medication, drug patches release the active compounds directly into the blood. By avoiding the gastrointestinal system, the drug is less likely to cause nausea and other side effects. The patch administers a constant level of the drug, avoiding the peaks and troughs in drug levels obtained from oral drugs. By wearing a patch, patients do not need to worry about forgetting, or waking up to take a pill.

1-800-Patches, Inc. is the premiere location for transdermal products. Through nicotine patches, it has become the leading supplier of smoking cessation products and services to consumers, corporations, and governments. With its website, 1800patches.com, it markets, educates, integrates, simplifies, and delivers smoking cessation products and services to consumers effectively and cost efficiently through its proprietary administration and accountability system. 1-800-Patches offers substantial discounts on all smoking cessation products and services produced by major pharmaceutical manufacturers, including GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pharmacia, and Watson. It stocks a significant inventory of products from which it can ship approximately 97% of its orders within one business day of receipt.