Nicotine patches of little use to smokers, study says

[DeathToTheOil]

Nicotine replacement therapy, including patches and gum, don't seem to help people quit smoking in the long-term, researchers say.

In a study published in Monday's online issue of the journal Tobacco Control, investigators at Harvard School of Public Health reported they followed 787 adult smokers who had recently quit.

"This study shows that using nicotine replacement therapy is no more effective in helping people stop smoking cigarettes in the long-term than trying to quit on one's own," study author Hillel Alpert said.

Heavily dependent smokers who used nicotine gum, nicotine inhalers or nasal spray to help them quit, without receiving professional help, were twice as like to relapse compared with those who did not use the products, the researchers found.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/01/09/nicotine-gum-patches.html

I've never smoked. And yes, i am being self-righteous about it!

[RC]

1. I have smoked. I quit cold turkey the last time, over 35 years ago.

I still have cravings sometimes. They are just there. Cigarette smoke and ash trays stink. They don't trigger the cravings.
Luckily they are infrequent and only last a part of a minute, but still... After all these years?

[madokie]

54. August 14, 1977 I smoked my last cigarette

I kept a pack with me at all times so if I changed my mind I'd have a cigarette handy. The mind change never came and now 34 and a 1/2 years later I still don't smoke. When someone walks into the house who smoke I can smell the tobacco as soon as they come in the door even if I'm rooms away I can still smell the smoke on their clothes. I've got breathing problems now and I truly believe that if I hadn't quit when I did I'd already be dead by now.


The thing with tobacco is I never did get over the fact I got dizzy when I'd smoke one and other than the dizzies I can't say I got anything else out of it. The left handed ones now I get a buzz from them

[dipsydoodle]

2. Hardly surprising

Ever tried lighting one up ?

[DeathToTheOil]

5. Never

My father died of lung cancer when I was four years old. He was 44.

[PassingFair]

3. The gum worked for me.

And the patch worked for my husband.

11 years smoke free for both of us.

We couldn't have done it without the nicotine aids, I know,
because we TRIED.

[barbtries]

4. a friend is using the patch

she says it helps.

[whathehell]

6. It helped me and my sister and we were both long time smokers, now smoke-free.

[arely staircase]

7. "quit in the long term" is the operative phrase. i don't doubt there data

but i've tried the patch; while it didn't cure me long term, i didn't smoke a cigarette for several weeks. That was a good thing. I'm currently using a diferrent nicotine replacement approach - the e-cigs and so far they i haven't been craving a real one. It's all going to be determined by the individual in the end.

[bemildred]

8. I smoked about 28 years.

Chewed, smoked cigars, pipes, cigarettes. Quit cold turkey around 1992. Then I got to missing the nicotine, but did not want to smoke again, so I started using gum. That was about 8 years ago now. So now I'm hooked on the gum, and fairly satisfied, and I have not smoked for 19 years now, and I am not tempted even a little bit to take up smoking again.

So if you smoke, I recommend the gum, either to quit, or just as a substitute nicotine source that will not rot your lungs. And it's pretty cheap, no butts, etc.

[alp227]

9. Typical corporate pharma scam.

[truthisfreedom]

10. I'm sure it's different for everyone. I quit cold turkey almost two years ago, and no cheating is

the only way to stay clean.

[Greybnk48]

11. I tried the patch but they didn't work.

I couldn't keep 'em lit. yuck! yuck!

The patch didn't work for me. I quit cold turkey 5 years ago this March. I had surgery and was in hospital for a week which helped. Cancer is a huge motivator. I also was gorked on morphine, a big help as far as cravings go. I'll be cancer free 5 years in March as well as cigarette free and I'm glad to be rid of both!!

BTW: I was a 2 pack a day chain-smoker for decades. i started smoking in 4th grade (no lie) and quit at 58. I never believed quitting was possible for me and I am thankful every day that something finally worked.

[boppers]

14. Thadum-bump! eom

[bemildred]

21. Good for you.

[jayfish]

12. I tried'em all.

The patch, gum, Wellbutrin, Chantix, inhalers, cold-turkey, you name it. The only thing that's had any lasting effect has been electronic cigarettes. I've been smoke free for nearly ten months and don't miss analog cigarettes a bit.

[boppers]

15. Chantix seems to be working for me.

There doesn't seem to be any magic bullet, different people find different solutions.

[lunatica]

17. It worked for me 15 years ago when it was in the scientific study stage

Just remember that every time you refuse to have that cigarette your brain is telling you it's time to have you are destroying an unwanted synapse. A very few times of doing that will stop the automatic signal your brain gives you that it's time for another cigarette. And avoiding places where people are still allowed to smoke helps a lot. Those non-smoking laws are our friends right now.

[gateley]

29. You're right - it's the same with anything. Different people find different solutions.

Chantix worked for my boss and she is DEFINITELY over smoking! Good luck!

[bitchkitty]

45. +1

I love my pink ciggie!

[boppers]

13. Well, the study says otherwise.

God I hate the science ignorant, filtered through what passes as journalism these days.

[lunatica]

16. Self righteousness isn't the same as wisdom

Though you evidently think that because you never smoked you are entitled to claim superiority of some kind.

[theAntiRand]

18. I've tried all kinds of gum, patches, and pills

None of them worked, and I can get 2, sometimes 3 cartons of cigs for the same price. Been trying e-cigs recently and they're the only thing that seems to work.

[zanana1]

20. Have you ever bought tobacco in cans?

I used to smoke "Bugler" tobacco. I had a little plastic device that made it very easy to roll cigarettes. A can of Bugler is approximately a carton of cigarettes and costs half of what a carton costs.

[theAntiRand]

42. Yeah, up till a few years ago

For some reason everywhere just stopped selling it, except for this one vanilla flavor that I hated.

[zanana1]

19. The patches helped me immensely.

They took the edge off. I couldn't have quit without them.

[Demeter]

22. The thing is, the Smoker has to want to quit

I've known too many who had no intention of ever doing so; one was my mother, who died of it at age 62. They revel in their addiction.

[bemildred]

25. +1. Motivation is 90% of it. nt

[gateley]

30. Yes - a friend of mine was only successful when she quit because she had to in order to get a face

lift.

I was motivated (and quit w/patches with seriously, no problem) before surgery. LOVED not smoking, loved being free from how it ran my life but after a year smoke-free, I thought I could handle ONE and have been smoking ever since.

[bemildred]

40. I quit because I wanted to keep backpacking.

And it was pretty clear I needed my lungs for that, and if I kept smoking, they would not be up to the job.

[gateley]

41. Whatever it takes. Isn't it funny that we seem to need a "good reason" to excise this addiction

from our lives?

ETA: Congratulations!!

[HughBeaumont]

26. The ones we know don't quit, they merely take breaks.

A "quit" will last for a period of 6 weeks to 6 months.

Then they'll be tipping a few back at a party and think "Ah, one isn't going to hurt".

One turns to two.

Two turns to full ashtrays in two weeks time.

Sad.

But like you said, the want just isn't there. There's no doctor telling them they have first stage emphysema or anything. Well, in the case of the FIL, they did tell him he has second stage Emphysema . . . doesn't matter, he's still Marlboroing up. All the way to the inevitable oxygen tank, I guess.

[gateley]

31. We had a CEO of a bank in Seattle (Rainier Bank, for Seattleites who remember) who was on oxygen

due to cigarette-induced emphysema. He'd have the tanks taken out of his office so he could smoke, then have them brought back in. It shows how powerful the addiction is, and that someone smart, intelligent and educated enough to run a bank can't "logic" their way out of it.

[MADem]

46. I know someone who smokes once a year!

Smoked for, oh, twenty years or more, quit, and only smokes at an annual meeting we all attend--he'll buy the flavor of cigarettes that someone attending smokes, have five or six in a single evening, give the pack away, and that's it--till next year!

It's the oddest thing! He says it's like cheating, but it reminds him that he doesn't want to go back to it on a permanent basis. Sort of "affirming the quit" if you will...!

He's been doing this for at least four or five years that I know about. He only does it one day a year, too.

[d_r]

50. the "I can never, ever smoke again" is the hardest part for some folks

It probably helps him that he doesn't have to think that, and if he has a "craving" he can think "well, I'll just wait until my day and really enjoy one." It makes sense to me.

[Yo_Mama]

23. I've known several people who quit on the patch

My understanding is that levels of physical addiction vary among smokers, so some are much less likely to quit without using nicotine replacements.

Since it works for some people, what's the problem? Every smoker that quits is a success story.

[gateley]

32. Well done.

[bemildred]

24. Nicotine 'may aid memory for in early dementia'

Nicotine patches may improve the memory of elderly people experiencing the earliest symptoms of dementia, researchers suspect.

The patches appear to give a cognitive boost to people with mild memory impairment.

The findings, published in the journal Neurology, come from a small study of 67 people over a period of six months.

Experts say the results are not conclusive, merely hinting of a benefit and do not mean people should smoke.

Yeah, and definitely don't try to light the patches.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16467186

[HughBeaumont]

27. Having a grandmother die @ 49 because of those things cured me of ever trying that.

I was only 7 when it happened.

She didn't even get to live her life.

[UpInArms]

28. patches, wellbutrin and will power

and it was tough tough tough

am now 5+ years free of a lifelong stinky expensive deadly habit

[gateley]

33. Yes -- now that you mention Wellbutrin, I remember it was that in combination with

the patches that helped me quit -- for a year.

[JNelson6563]

34. Good for you!

I hope to have the same story some time! Good to see you!

Julie

[UpInArms]

37. good to see you too, Julie!

Sometimes I can't even remember being a smoker - those are the good days - sometimes, I still want to smoke - those are the bad days - thankfully, there are more good than bad ones



I look back at it all and am glad I quit - my (now) 18 year old son was a big motivating factor.

[Taverner]

35. They do work. You just have to keep a few around.

So when you have the urge to smoke, you can put on a patch or pop in a piece of gum

[William Seger]

36. Best thing about the patch and gum: very vivid dreams

I don't know if they make you dream more or if you just remember more about your dreams, but most people I know who tried patches and gum noticed it.

I quit smoking but then was hooked on the gum for over 2 years. I finally gave that up almost a year ago but I still have an occasional craving. And I miss the cool dreams...

[arely staircase]

51. incredible dreams in that you are so far off into them, they are so real

none of that - i need to get up and pee but i want to finish this dream - half sleep/half awake existance. it is just impossible to describe. i'm talking about the patches.

[AZ Progressive]

38. I never was a smoker, but I don't blame people who smoke

In this country you are supposed to be independent and self reliant, so thus you are on your own many times in handling all the stressful things in your life. Many times the stressful things in your life is just so overwhelming. Many people smoke because they use it as a stress reliever. Sometimes I wish I had something instant to ease the stress or escape.

If society does little to nothing to help make people's lives easier or help them handle life, then why should they judge people that smoke or drink or do drugs? I'm not endorsing doing these things as ultimately they are seriously self destructive, and especially not the ones that do it for purely recreational use. I'm just saying that for many it's a symptom or result of the culture.

[Rhiannon12866]

52. That was very well stated. Thank you.

And cigarettes are reputed to be one of the toughest to give up. I gave up alcohol close to three years ago, but I've yet to successfully give up smoking, and I've tried. If I'm feeling stressed, I tell myself that I can at least have a cigarette.

[crim son]

39. Such studies look at cost effectiveness, not whether or not people are helped overall.

That, and the wording of the results must be considered. Ten years ago I had a surgery that studies concluded wasn't worth getting because in the end, I might end up taking meds anyway to control the symptoms. I had to bombard my physician with anecdotal evidence to the contrary before he finally recommended it. Well, for eight years after the surgery I was symptom free, and now the occasional symptom is easily resolved by taking one OTC pill every couple months instead of three prescription drugs daily. The study was right, in a sense, but my quality of life is now, well, normal, while before the surgery I was in constant pain and so thin it was dangerous to my health. Lesson learned.

[JoJoO]

43. Nicotine patches of little use to smokers, study says

I tried patches, cold turkey and nicotine gum, to no avail. I went on Chantix for two months and I haven't smoked in over a year. I rarely get cravings and I've only gained 5 pounds.

[bitchkitty]

44. I quit smoking.

After many failed attempts, I bought an AquaVapor. Now I can breathe, and it costs me about $10 a month. Big improvement over $5 a pack and I was a pack-a-day smoker.

[MADem]

47. What is an Aquavapor? A water pipe? nt

[bitchkitty]

48. It's an electronic cigarette.

http://aquavapor.com

[MADem]

49. Ah. I have heard of them, never seen anyone actually use one, though. nt

[ellisonz]

53. Helped me...

...4 months no cigs, more than a month without the patch.

Edit: DU is the new cigarette.

[Bozvotros]

55. E cigs are working for me (15 months cigarette free)

I quit for seven full years once, multiple times for a year or more and about 50 times for a week or less. Have been on Chantix (constant nausea) Zyban (headaches, tremoring), patches, gum, lozenges etc and always went back. Electronic cigarettes are doing the job but you have to always have one charged up and nicotine liquid on hand.

There is a real learning curve in using them. You have to find the right model, the right flavor with the right throat hit and nicotine content. There are lots of huge rip offs out there. In general avoid the mall buy and never, ever do a "free trial" or respond to the radio ads. Those folks are criminals and will have your credit card number. You can buy a rechargable e cig for 10 bucks on line. These are largely the same version they will sell you for $100 bucks or more plus try to make you buy monthly refills you could do yourself for 1/10th the price.

The best site for information is the e-cigarette-forum. Here's a good place to start:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/index.php/best-ecigarette-for-a-new-user.html