A nasal strip for opening nasal passageways having an external portion extending throughout the length of the nasal strip. The external portion of the nasal strip is formed from a flexible plastic material. The external portion has a central section and opposing end sections with the central section having the same width as each of the end sections. The central section has sufficient thickness to create a lifting torque of at least 0.1 inch-ounces onto the opposing end sections of the nasal strip. An adhesive coating covers each of the end sections and the central section does not have an adhesive coating.