You will run into the same problems with the patch as it is the actual nicotine that causes the problem not other chemicals.Unfortunetly for me, when my NS told me that I needed to stop smoking, he did not tell me why.I just assumed that it had something to do with my lungs(i know that it was part of the reason).so, i figured that if I could try quitting with the patch,i was doing okay.Well, when I went in for my 6 week check and was all proud of myself for quitting and mentioned that i was using the patch since the surgery,it was THEN that he told me about the nicotine being the problem.well, don't you think that this should have been mentioned before?i was really quite angry as I had not even started to fuse yet.I was also taking aleeve for pain which is another no-no(but his nurse told me to switch to over the counter meds at about the two week point and didn't mention this possible problem with NSAIDS then).Just another thing that they failed to mention to me.I would think that at the very least, this NS owes it to his patients to maybe like make up some sort of sheet with all of the things that should be avoided and WHY.i was really bummed out about all of this and did end up not fusing and having to undergo another surgery to place hardware.for the best possible outcome for yourself, please do research on what you should and shouldn't be doing post op.Believe me, it will save you alot of pain and problems later on.Good luck,marcia