FDA Adverse Events Reports (FAERS) Summary for NICODERM CQ
These tables and charts are based on 17,588 total reports for NICODERM CQ (NICOTINE) received by the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from 2004 through July 30, 2026.
This FAERS total includes 17,480 pharmaceutical company-submitted and non-U.S. FAERS reports and 108 U.S. consumer or healthcare provider-submitted
MedWatch reports. Adverse events listed on this page represent serious and sometimes rare adverse events
reported to pharmaceutical companies, and often do not represent typical side
effects for the medication. Find common side effects in the most recent
official drug label.
For a separate summary of the 108 U.S. reports
filed via the FDA MedWatch voluntary reporting system, view our FDA MedWatch NICODERM CQ summary report.
(See notes section below for explanation of FDA’s mandatory and voluntary reporting system.)
Top 20 Adverse Effects Associated with NICODERM CQ (reported in FAERS Database) Latest Known Outcomes for Reactions Reported for NICODERM CQ
Based on 10832 reports that included a patient age.
Side Effect # of FDA Reports 1 APPLICATION SITE REDNESS 3184 2 APPLICATION SITE ITCHING 3099 3 DRUG INEFFECTIVE 2860 4 NAUSEA 1800 5 NICOTINE DEPENDENCE 1407 6 DIZZINESS 1120 7 APPLICATION SITE IRRITATION 1083 8 APPLICATION SITE PAIN 1032 9 MALAISE 1012 10 APPLICATION SITE RASH 1006 11 APPLICATION SITE REACTION 995 12 HYPERSENSITIVITY 856 13 HEADACHE 807 14 ABNORMAL DREAMS 789 15 MACULAR DEGENERATION 772 16 APPLICATION SITE SWELLING 679 17 DRUG ADMINISTRATION ERROR 658 18 INSOMNIA 647 19 VOMITING 582 20 WRONG TECHNIQUE IN PRODUCT USAGE PROCESS 511 Latest Known Outcome for Reported Reactions Number of Cases 1 Unknown Outcome 7438 2 Patient has not recovered/symtoms have not resolved 2823 3 Patient recovered 2657 4 Patient is recovering/symptoms resolving 405 5 Patient died 120 6 Patient has recovered but has consequent health issues 48 Yearly FDA Adverse Event Reports (Table)
Year Number of Reports 2004 118 2005 3129 2006 3052 2007 127 2008 68 2009 78 2010 79 2011 90 2012 102 2013 1457 2014 239 2015 2190 2016 1324 2017 1011 2018 908 2019 783 2020 509 2021 740 2022 432 2023 416 2024 329 2025 315 2026 92 Reports by Patient Age Group (Table)
Age Group Number of Reports 0-10 11 11-20 192 21-30 1205 31-40 1552 41-50 1980 51-60 2471 61-70 2186 71-80 1095 81-90 125 91+ 15
NICODERM CQ Total Reports
| Male | Female | Unknown | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4344 | 10275 | 2969 | 17,588 |
Top Countries Reporting
| Country | Number of Reports | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 9739 |
| 2 | Canada | 1011 |
| 3 | Germany | 4 |
| 4 | France | 3 |
| 5 | United Kingdom | 2 |
| 6 | South Korea | 2 |
| 7 | Austria | 1 |
| 8 | Australia | 1 |
| 9 | Belgium | 1 |
| 10 | Brazil | 1 |
Outcomes for Reports
Serious: 2503
Not Serious: 15081
Note: A serious outcome means the adverse event resulted in death, a life threatening condition, hospitalization, disability, congenital anomaly, or other serious condition.
| Top Indications | |
| Product used for unknown indication | |
| Smoking cessation therapy | |
| Nicotine dependence | |
| Tobacco user | |
| Obsessive thoughts | |
Top Companies Reporting
| Haleon PLC | |
FDA Approval Date: 1996-08-02 NICODERM CQ (NICOTINE) Over-the-counter Drug: For serious adverse events, report them to the FDA by contacting the drug manufacturer or report directly through the
MedWatch voluntary reporting form.
Events listed on this page represent serious and often rare adverse events
reported to pharmaceutical companies, and do not represent typical side
effects for the medication. Find common side effects on the most recent
official drug label
This report, created by AskaPatient.com, is derived from the cases for NICODERM CQ reported to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and
obtained from Open FDA. Data was last
updated with reports received through July 30, 2026.
Adverse Event Reports are submitted to the FAERS database by pharmaceutical companies (mandatory reporting is required by manufacturers, distributors, or importers).
Health care providers such as doctors (voluntary reporting), and patients themselves (voluntary reporting)
report to the FDA directly through the MedWatch program. Those MedWatch
reports are coded and included in the FAERS database. This report mainly
consists of the mandatory reports, because the MedWatch reports are a small
percentage (3 - 5%) of total reports. Link to the MedWatch summary report at
the top of the page for a summary of the directly reported
(voluntary) adverse events for this drug.The number of reports included here might differ
somewhat from the number of reports in the downloadable quarterly FAERS
reports and in the online FAERS dashboard, due to lags in reporting, drug
name differences,
duplicates, and other factors. Open FDA states that it only includes the
most recent version of a case report. It also adds the disclaimer:
"Do not rely on openFDA to make
decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that
data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated."
FDA uses the "MedDRA" classification system to describe reported adverse
reactions. MedDRA is a standardized medical terminology that facilitates
sharing of regulatory information internationally. In some cases, "patient
friendly" terms for the layman designated by MedDRA have been substituted
for medical jargon. Please
contact us
with questions or comments about this report.
Safety-Related FDA Updates
Safety-related Labeling Changes
Have experience (good or bad) with NICODERM CQ? Rate NICODERM CQ at Ask a Patient.
Notes
This summary includes ALL reports where the
drug is a "primary OR secondary OR suspected interacting" drug. Typically, reports are filed for the most serious type or "event" and do not represent incidental or minor side effects. The majority
of these reports are mandatory reports submitted by pharmaceutical
companies, who receive complaints from consumers. The reactions, side effects, or "adverse events," represent up to the 20 most
frequently occuring events in the database for a drug related to the event.
This report also features counts of latest known outcomes associated with
reported side effects, but does not provide the specific outcomes for specific
adverse events.
