A medical approach to nicotine addiction treatment

Smoking cessation is a complex process, not a simple event. The cues that cause a smoker to light up, the life-style, and the fallacies of each smoker are helpful information for the practicing physician. Behavioral modification aimed at eliminating cues that initiate smoking together with the systematic use of pharmacologic replacement therapy can help some patients quit. Transdermal nicotine replacement appears particularly promising, and additional pharmacologic agents to deal with nicotine withdrawal may be worth trying. Our advice to practitioners who would like to get involved in smoking cessation is to (1) set up your own smoking cessation clinic; (2) be systematic; (3) don't be discouraged; (4) follow your patients until they either quit smoking or quit coming to your office; and (5) keep abreast of new developments in smoking cessation strategies.