Interventions to increase use of nicotine gum: a randomized, controlled, single-blind trial

Medication noncompliance with smoking cessation pharmacotherapies is a significant problem in both research and clinical settings. This randomized, controlled, single-blind study compared three single-session psychological interventions to increase use of nicotine gum during a 15-day treatment period. A total of 97 adult smokers were randomized to receive standard treatment (ST, n = 31), brief feedback (BF, n = 32) plus ST, or contingency management (CM; i.e., payment for chewing at least 12 pieces/day on 10 of 15 intervention days, n = 34) plus ST and BF. Only the CM condition led to significantly greater average daily gum use (pieces/day: ST, 6.17; BF, 7.81; CM, 10.17 [p values <.05]) and higher rates of compliance (ST, 13.6%; BF, 25.2%; CM, 65.6% [p values <.001]). No differences were observed in smoking abstinence, nicotine withdrawal, or urinary cotinine as a function of treatment. Implications of the present findings are discussed, including application to clinical trials and extension to real-world use of nicotine gum.