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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNicotine therapy doesn't help people quit smoking - study
GUMS, patches and nasal sprays that supply smokers with nicotine do not help people quit cigarettes over the long term any better than going it alone, a US study says.
The research by the Harvard University School of Public Health followed 787 adults in the state of Massachusetts who had recently quit smoking, and found that over time just as many relapsed after nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) as without - about a third.
"This study shows that using NRT is no more effective in helping people stop smoking cigarettes in the long term than trying to quit on one's own," said lead author Hillel Alpert, a research scientist at Harvard.
Study participants were surveyed over three periods: 2001-2002, 2003-2004, and 2005-2006.
Not only were relapse rates about the same among those who used NRT and those who did not, the study found that heavily dependent smokers who took NRT without professional therapy were twice as likely to relapse as those who did not use NRT.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/nicotine-therapy-doesnt-help-quit-study/story-e6freuyi-1226240440047
tridim
(45,358 posts)All it does is addict you to the NRT product, which BTW are much more expensive than cigarettes.
DearAbby
(12,461 posts)one can get their nicotine fix cheaper with the tobacco. It's a scam to drain money from those who have so little to spend for either, a vicious cycle of addiction.
tridim
(45,358 posts)But I agree with everything you said. NRT is criminally overpriced. I've never found any official data, but my educated guess (based on looking at the raw ingredients) is that the markup is around 10,000%, just like many other pharmaceuticals.
KT2000
(20,544 posts)keeps rising with the cost of tobacco, which rises mostly due to taxes on tobacco - not nicotine replacement products.
Would love to see how much it costs to manufacture a patch.
Preditors.
malaise
(267,823 posts)Tikki
(14,539 posts)easiest, cheapest, most thorough way to quit....and the money saved starts piling up and up from day one.
When I was doing jury duty last year, some of the youngers said they heard it was actually impossible to really quit..
What horse sh*t...I told them that virtually everyone I know who used to smoke...has QUIT.
Tikki
smoke free 8 years
ErikJ
(6,335 posts)I was a light smoker then switched to gum and nico lozenges for the past 20 years.
I still use them because I like nicotine. But its a harmless delivery system so no cancer risk.
quaker bill
(8,223 posts)I was required to transition away from smoking on company time during breaks to no smoking during the workday. It was a condition of continued employment.
I used lozenges as needed for the first week. I found I did not need them after that and still have a half full vial on my desk...
They do help a bit, if you have decided to do it anyway.