A method of controlling or electing the harshness of inhaled nicotine powder formulations is described. The method includes the steps of identifying a concentration of nicotine for a subject to inhale to achieve a desired level of harshness per inhalation, identifying the total dose of nicotine to be inhaled by the subject, and providing the subject with an amount of a formulation comprising nicotine particles having the identified concentration of nicotine, such that the total amount of nicotine particles in the formulation equals the total dose of nicotine.