Combination of behavioral smoking cessation with transdermal nicotine substitution

Effects of a transdermal nicotine substitution on psychological smoking cessation were investigated in a double-blind prospective study. 131 smokers were randomly assigned to three treatment conditions: All smokers underwent nine weeks of self-controlled smoking cessation. During six weeks one group was additionally treated with nicotine patches continuously releasing nicotine through the skin into the blood circuit. The second group received placebo patches; while the third group was treated with behavioral training alone. Treatment effects were measured by daily cigarette consumption. Nicotine-treated subjects reached significantly higher abstinence rates during and at the end of treatment than both placebo- and control-subjects: 69% in the nicotine condition, 51.2% and 44.4% under placebo and control conditions respectively. Effects are influenced by initial cigarette consumption, with the light smokers benefitting most from the nicotine patch. Self-assessments suggest an aversive effect of transdermal nicotine on cigarette taste. Our results, although not yet verified by long-term observations, demonstrate that transdermal nicotine substitution significantly enhances the effectiveness of behavioral smoking cessation methods.