does it slow down the current or stops the current into the coil?
An inductor tends to oppose a change in current, but it doesn't stop. The current through an inductor is given by i(1/L) integral(v dt). In other words an inductor integrates the voltage across it.
An inductor delays a change in current (so to speak). If an inductor is connected to a d.c. source through an open switch; at the instant the switch closes, full votage is applied across the inductor, but current does not flow due to a phenomon referred to as reverse electromotive force or reverse voltage. As a magnetic field builds in the inductor, current begins to flow, with the magnitude of current gradually increasing until the magnetic field builds completely. The inductor then acts as a short circuit. The time delay is a function of circuit resistance multiplied by inductance. At the instant the switch opens, the current in the inductor continues to flow until the field begins to collapse, at which point the current gradually reduces to zero.
A most common application of an inductor (sometimes called choke) would be as part of a signal frequency filter
