Stop-smoking products increase quit rate for smokers who need to quit the most

An article in the current issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment (Volume 28, Issue 1, 2005) provides new hope for smokers who are highly dependent upon tobacco and who smoke more than two packs per day.

Researchers examined data from two previous clinical trials and found that the 21 mg NicoDerm CQ patch and the 4 mg Commit lozenge marketed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare can significantly increase the most heavy smokers' chances of quitting successfully. The analysis is the first of its kind that focuses on the 8% of American smokers who smoke the most and who have the most difficulty quitting.

In the studies, 28.4% of the heaviest smokers using the NicoDerm CQ patch were still not smoking after 6 months, compared to 8.1% using placebo. With the Commit lozenge, 22.1% of the heaviest smokers were still not smoking compared to 6.3% using placebo. The findings were consistent across the two studies reviewed, even though they used different selection criteria, methodology, and cessation treatment methods.

"Nearly ten percent of smokers smoke more than two packs a day," said Saul Shiffman, Ph.D., lead author of the study. "Many of these heavy smokers may not believe that stop-smoking products can help them. The drastic difference in quit rates for heavy and highly dependent smokers who used NicoDerm CQ or Commit, compared to placebo, shows that these products can play a huge role in helping those who most need to quit."

Medicinal nicotine works by weaning smokers off their nicotine addiction without exposing them to the more than 4,000 chemicals and at least 69 known or suspected carcinogens found in tobacco smoke. Smokers can choose which medicinal nicotine product to use based upon their individual smoking habits, including how much they smoke. GSK Consumer Healthcare offers the widest range of proven products including two starting strengths of clear and opaque NicoDerm CQ; two strengths of the Commit lozenge; and two strengths, four flavors and two formulas of Nicorette gum. GSK Consumer Healthcare's stop- smoking products have helped more than 2 million Americans stop smoking by providing low, safe doses of nicotine to ease withdrawal from cigarettes.