Smokers Urged to Be Patient with Nicotine Replacement Products

Research shows that smokers using nicotine-replacement products are often unsuccessful in quitting because they don't stick with the therapy long enough, the New York Times reported Aug. 31.

A review of various studies suggests that smokers who use nicotine-replacement products such as patches, gum, lozenges, inhalers, or nasal sprays should do so more aggressively than the package instructions recommend.

The advice comes after several studies have shown that 3 in 4 people who used nicotine-replacement products failed to quit smoking because they used them too little, or for too short a time.

Dr. Michael Fiore, director of the tobacco research and intervention center at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, said nicotine-replacement products were designed to be used for three to six months, with higher doses in the beginning when nicotine dependence is greater.

But Fiore said that some users cut nicotine patches in half or don't follow the recommended dose for gum and lozenges. Others stop nicotine therapy after only a couple of weeks.

Source: www.jointogether.org