Nicotine Patches News and Research

RSS

Study finds that Twitter helpful for smoking cessation program

When subjects in a smoking cessation program tweet each other regularly, they're more successful at kicking the habit, according to a study by UC Irvine and Stanford University researchers. Specifically, daily "automessages" that encourage and direct the social media exchanges may be more effective than traditional social media interventions for quitting smoking.

5 Mar 2015

Electronic cigarettes and smoking cessation: an interview with Professor Peter Hajek

The electronic cigarette has been invented by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik in 2003. The rise in electronic cigarettes (EC) popularity was initially a grass root phenomenon. EC are estimated to be at least 95% safer than cigarettes and they appeal to smokers who cannot or do not want to stop smoking, but who want to reduce the risks smoking poses to their health.

5 Feb 2015

How quickly smokers metabolise nicotine may point to best quitting method

The success of different smoking cessation treatments could be predicted by how quickly smokers break down (metabolise) nicotine in their bodies, according to new research published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.

13 Jan 2015

American Heart Association issues new policy recommendations on use of e-cigarettes

The American Heart Association issued new policy recommendations today on the use of e-cigarettes and their impact on tobacco-control efforts. The guidance was published in the association's journal, Circulation.

25 Aug 2014

Combining 2 smoking cessation therapies more effective for highly nicotine-dependent smokers

Combining two smoking cessation therapies is more effective than using just one for male and highly nicotine-dependent smokers who weren't initially helped by the nicotine patch, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

17 Jun 2014

Social pressures rather than physical dangers may restrict e-cigarette use, says university professor

As part of the Psychology Invited Speakers Seminar Series at the University of Leicester, Professor Jason Hughes from the University's Department of Sociology will today argue that e-cigarettes, which are currently unregulated throughout the United Kingdom, will soon face legislation that will restrict and ban them - and that concerns about social dangers, more than physical dangers to health, will be the cause of it.

17 Mar 2014

ClearWay Minnesota launches new version of QUITPLAN Services for Minnesotans

ClearWay Minnesota launched a new version of QUITPLAN Services, the free cessation program available to any Minnesotan who wants to quit tobacco. The new services now include free access to text messages, email support, a downloadable quit guide and free "starter kits," which provide a two-week supply of nicotine patches, gum or lozenges to help tobacco users quit.

3 Mar 2014

Smokers who want to stop smoking are more likely to succeed if they see specialist

Smokers in England who want to stop smoking are three times more likely to succeed if they see a trained advisor than if they try by themselves, according to a new study published online today in the medical journal Addiction.

23 Dec 2013

Coupling meditation-like practices with drug and behavior therapies more helpful in tackling addiction

Using a computational model of addiction, a literature review and an in silico experiment, theoretical computer scientist Yariv Levy and colleagues suggest in a new paper this week that rehabilitation strategies coupling meditation-like practices with drug and behavior therapies are more helpful than drug-plus-talk therapy alone when helping people overcome addiction.

20 Dec 2013

Smoking-cessation in HIV-positive individuals: an interview with Dr Ellen R. Gritz, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

In the general population, current smoking prevalence is 18%. Persons living with HIV/AIDS smoke at a rate 2 to 3 times higher, up to almost 70% in some studies.

16 Sep 2013

Trial to compare e-cigarettes with nicotine patches shows success in helping smokers to quit

First trial to compare e-cigarettes with nicotine patches shows comparable success in helping smokers to quit.

10 Sep 2013

Four simple steps increase chances of preoperative smoking cessation

A simple four-part program-including referral to a quit-smoking hotline and a free supply of nicotine patches-can increase the percentage of patients who quit smoking before undergoing surgery, reports a study in the September issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

23 Aug 2013

Intervention delivered through mobile phones to HIV/AIDS-positive smokers increased cessation rates

A smoking-cessation intervention delivered through mobile phones to HIV/AIDS-positive smokers increased cessation rates compared to standard care, according to research published online in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

16 Aug 2013

Contrasting perspectives on e-cigarettes from smoking cessation experts

The increasing popularity and availability of e-cigarettes (otherwise known as Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, or ENDS) in many countries has prompted fierce debate among public health professionals, with some expressing concerns that lack of safety information for the devices could result in unforeseen damage to public health if they are not appropriately regulated.

25 Jul 2013

Research roundup: Insurance coverage and access to care in Massachusetts

With increasing interest in public health problems such as obesity and alcohol and tobacco use, lawmakers are increasingly considering using policy to modify behavior. According to the authors, little is currently known about the public's willingness to accept such policies.

11 Mar 2013

Naltrexone may help avoid weight gain among women smokers

A medication being tested to help smokers kick the habit also may help avoid the weight gain that is common after quitting but only in women, according to a study published in the December issue of Biological Psychiatry. This is the first medication shown to reduce weight gain for up to one year in women smokers who quit.

11 Dec 2012

MIT engineers use ultrasound waves to enhance permeability of skin to drugs

Using ultrasound waves, MIT engineers have found a way to enhance the permeability of skin to drugs, making transdermal drug delivery more efficient. This technology could pave the way for noninvasive drug delivery or needle-free vaccinations, according to the researchers.

15 Sep 2012

Genes predict the brain's reaction to smoking

Have you ever wondered why some people find it so much easier to stop smoking than others? New research shows that vulnerability to smoking addiction is shaped by our genes. A study from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro, McGill University shows that people with genetically fast nicotine metabolism have a significantly greater brain response to smoking cues than those with slow nicotine metabolism.

12 Sep 2012

Smoker's genetic makeup can help predict response to drug therapy

The same gene variations that make it difficult to stop smoking also increase the likelihood that heavy smokers will respond to nicotine-replacement therapy and drugs that thwart cravings, a new study shows.

31 May 2012

MIT researchers engineer new jet-injection system

MIT researchers have engineered a device that delivers a tiny, high-pressure jet of medicine through the skin without the use of a hypodermic needle. The device can be programmed to deliver a range of doses to various depths - an improvement over similar jet-injection systems that are now commercially available.

25 May 2012