Are Nicotine Patches Effective Without Behavioral Support?

A 5-week dose of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)—or nicotine patches—without behavioral support is effective for quitting smoking, according to recent research.

The effectiveness of NRT, when accompanied by behavioral therapy, has been well documented. In order to examine whether NRT could help smokers quit without behavioral support, researchers in Canada interviewed a randomized group of 2093 smokers on whether they were interested in quitting. Of those, 1000 individuals who smoked more than 10 cigarettes per day and were interested in quitting were chosen to participate in the study.
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Researchers sent 500 smokers a 5-week supply of nicotine patches. The other half wasn’t offered any intervention. All participants were sent a home saliva sample kit at baseline, 2 months, and 6 months.

After 2 months, 99% of individuals received the nicotine patches and 58% reported using them. After 6 months, 8% of those in the NRT group reported not smoking for the prior 30 days, compared with only 3% of those in the control group.

In addition, 51% of individuals returned saliva tests, which validated that 3% of the NRT group and 1% of the control group didn’t smoke for the prior 6 months.

“The trial provides evidence of the effectiveness of mailed nicotine patches without behavioral support to promote tobacco cessation,” researchers concluded. “The strength of these findings is tempered by the lack of biochemical validation for all participants.

--Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Cunningham JA, Kushnir V, Selby P, et al. Effect of mailing nicotine patches on tobacco cessation among adult smokers: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. Published online January 25, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.7792.