(dailyRx)
Quitting smoking is a difficult and lifelong process for many smokers. Quitting just got tougher now thanks to a new study showing that nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) are unsuccessful.
NRTs, such as nicotine patches and nicotine gums, are not successful in quitting long-term according to a new study. Even with the aid of smoking cessation counseling, long-term outcomes were not successful.
The study was conducted by lead researcher Dr. Hillel Alpert, research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). Researchers followed 787 former smokers who recently quit over the course six years, 2001 – 2006. The former smokers were asked if they used a NRT such as a gum, patch, nicotine inhaler or nasal spray and how long it was used for.
Dr. Alpert notes that while NRTs may have been proven effective in a clinical setting, via trials, that does not mean they are truly effective in a general population in a real-world setting. Empirical studies, involving observation, are needed to truly understand the effectiveness of a clinical trial according to Dr. Alpert.
The former smokers were also asked if they had sought professional help from a doctor or a counselor of if they had joined a quit-smoking program. The results were broken down in three time periods, from 2001 – 2002, 2003 – 2004 and 2005 – 2006.
In each two year period, close to 33 percent of former smokers had relapsed. There was no significant difference between smokers who used NRTs over the course of six weeks and had counseling versus smokers who only used NRTs over the course of six weeks.
There was no difference in the rate of success between heavy and light smokers.
This study, however, offers contradictory evidence to a study published in the Cochrane Library in 2007 that looked at over 35,600 people and showed that NRT’s of all kinds were more effective at helping smokers quit than no intervention or placebo when used properly. The authors of the Cochrane study concluded that NRT’s improved the odds of long-term quitting 1.5 to 2 fold regardless of setting. They also note that using the products as directed is of utmost importance.
There are successful tools and intervention programs that are effective. Raising the prices of cigarettes has been shown to be effective as has media campaigns that promote awareness and banning smoking in public places.
The FDA can also play a part by only approving smoking cessation treatments that have been proven to work long-term, according to co-author Gregory Connolly, director of the Center for Global Tobacco Control at HSPH.
A more radical approach suggested by Dr. Connolly includes the reduction of nicotine in cigarettes to make them less addictive.
While NRTs may not work for everyone, there are still plenty of former smokers who have quit successfully. Discussing ways to quit with a doctor can also lead to possible successful smoking cessation treatments.
This study was published in the January edition of Tobacco Control.
One out of every five people in the United States are addicted to cigarettes, or about 61 million people. Even more millions use smokeless tobacco and cigars.
The Centers for Disease Control lists tobacco use as the single most important preventable risk to human health. Tobacco is used by smoking or chewing it to get the pleasurable ,but ultimately addicting effects of nicotine. Tobacco use has been proven to cause heart disease, strokes, emphysema, chronic obstructive lung disease, and cancer of the lungs, bladder, throat, mouth, and pancreas.