Nicotine Patch and Smoking Cessation
Around 450 million people worldwide will die of smoking related diseases in the next 50 years. Between a third and half of all smokers will die of smoking related diseases if the do not quit smoking. And, though many people can quit on their own, many more people who try to stop fail. Some have tried to stop multiple times.
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is one way for smokers to temporarily continue receiving nicotine while not smoking. NRT devices like the "patch" allow the expected amount of nicotine to enter the body in a steady way that is not addicting. This serves to reduce withdrawal symptoms.
The nicotine patch has been found effective in reducing withdrawal symptoms, reducing adverse mood changes, have about 1.73 times the smoking cessation rates for placebo, and helping to prevent relapse.
The nicotine patch can be worn during the day under clothing and so in not noticeable. Some patches can be worn overnight, while others are meant to be removed at night. Both types of patches are equally effective.
While some suggest reducing the number of cigarettes per day over time, others suggest quitting all at once. Both techniques seem to work equally well.
After completing using the nicotine patch, your withdrawal symptoms should be minimal. But, at least one study shows that approximately half the smokers who successfully quit using the patch will relapse in coming years.
Resources:
- M A H Russell, J A Stapleton, C Feyerabend, S M Wiseman, G Gustavvsson, U Sawe, P Conner, Targeting heavy smokers in general practice: randomized controlled trial of transderman nicotine patches, British Medical Journal, 306, 15 May 1993, 1308-1312
- Patricia Yudkin, Kate Hey, Sarah Roberts, Sarah Welch, Michael Murphy, Robert Walton, Abstinence from smoking eight years after participation in randomised controlled trial of nicotine patch, British Medical Journal, 327, 5 July 2005, 28-29
- Tim Lancaster, Lindsay Stead, Chris Silagy, Amanda Sowden, Regular review: Effectiveness of interventions to help people stop smoking: findings from the Chchrane Library, British Medical Journal, 321, 5 Auguse 2000, 355-358
- Lindsay F Stead, Tim Lancaster &Chris A Silagy, Updating a systematic review - what difference did it make? Case study of nicotine replacement therapy, BMC Medical Research Methodology 2001, 1(10).
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