Study Shows Short-Term Use of Nicotine Patch EffectiveApril 25, 2001
Research Summary
Researchers found that smokers trying to quit smoking could find success wearing a nicotine patch for just four weeks, as opposed to the standard 10-week course, Reuters reported April 23.For the study, researchers at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va., randomly assigned 375 smoking-cessation program participants to either the 10-week course of tapering-dose nicotine patches or an experimental four-week course.
Of the 147 participants who completed the study, there were 72 in the four-week group and 75 in the 10-week course. Researchers found that 16 weeks after the start of the study, 40 percent of those in the four-week program successfully quit, compared to 24 percent in the 10-week course.
The study's findings were released at the annual meeting of the American Society of Addiction Medicine in Los Angeles, Calif.
The researchers are planning an additional study to determine if the same results could be achieved without participation in support groups.
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