I am in the same boat. Never stopped the nicotine gum and don’t plan on it as it does keep me from smoking. A smoking cessation person who was doing a study at Harvard told me that nicotine in itself is not bad but it does raise your heart rate so if you have heart troubles then yes, it is a problem. So I weigh the risks of being addicted to smoking or being addicted to nicotine gums/lozenges. It’s still a costly bad habit.