Nicotine Patch May Help Prevent Smoking Relapses

April 16, 2012 “The clear implication is that you shouldn’t give up, you should stay on the treatment with patch,” said Saul Shiffman, one of the study’s authors from the University of Pittsburgh. People who “lapse,” or give in to nicotine cravings when trying to quit, are at high risk of giving up and returning to smoking. But contrary to common perception, they haven’t failed at quitting and may get over initial lapses by continuing to use the patch, Shiffman said. His team’s study, published in the journal Addiction, suggests that along with helping people stop smoking in the first place, nicotine patches could also boost their chances of recovering from occasional lapses while trying to quit. Experts say most people trying to break the habit manage to do so at first, but are unable to sustain their quit attempt over the long run. “Patch can help overcome these lapses. We’re ignoring what could be a very important benefit of treatment,” Shiffman told Reuters Health.

For More Information:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/13/us-nicotine-smoking-idUSBRE83C11A20120413

Partnership for Prevention

Nicotine Patch May Help Prevent Smoking Relapses

Join the Network!

In The News RSS