Nicotine patches before quitting smoking doubles success rate

Nicotine patches help people to quit smoking by providing them with the nicotine they crave when they are no longer using cigarettes.

Because of fears that people might overdose on nicotine, current labelling recommends that the patches are used only AFTER the person stops smoking.

However, new research from the Duke University Medical Center suggests this conventional wisdom may be wrong. Scientists found if people apply the patches before trying to kick the habit, the chances of success when they try to stop are doubled.

Although the test group was made up only 400 people, the results are striking enough to warrant attention.

The researchers also discovered that people who reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke once they begin to use the patches are those most likely to quit. This may allow therapists to predict quitting behaviour and adjust their approach to the patient accordingly.

Jed Rose, a director at the Medical Center, commented: "By monitoring pre-cessation patch smoking levels, we may be able to rescue people who aren't going to succeed. If the smoker is not spontaneously decreasing the number of cigarettes they are smoking, we may be able to find a different treatment that will work for them rather than letting them stay on an ineffective treatment and fail."

About the study

The study involved 400 smokers who smoked an average of slightly more than one pack of cigarettes per day. They were separated into 4 groups and the members of each group were given either nicotine patches or fake "placebo" patches. Thus everyone on the trial thought that they were getting nicotine replacement therapy, but only half were. Following the quit date, all groups received standard nicotine patch treatment at reduced dosages for a total of 10 weeks.

The results

Twenty-two percent of participants who were given real nicotine patches abstained from smoking continuously for at least 10 weeks, compared to 11 percent in the fake placebo patch groups.

Is it safe to use patches while smoking?

According to researchers, they reviewed all available literature on the matter and concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that it was dangerous. However until this has been independently verified you should always follow the instructions on any smoking cessation product that you plan to use.

More information

• Duke Medical Centre press release

This article was published on Fri 10 July 2009