BMJ  2003;327 (5 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7405.0-d

Effectiveness of nicotine patches is overstated

Former smokers using nicotine patches often return to smoking. In an eight year follow up of people who took part in a randomised trial of the patch, Yudkin and colleagues (p 28) report that nearly half of those who had given up smoking for a year in the original trial had taken it up again, and that relapse rates were similar in nicotine patch and placebo groups. The cost effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy is therefore overestimated when it is based on relatively short term results. Of all trial entrants, 88% were smoking eight years later, underlining the difficulty that smokers have in giving up.

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Relevant Article

Abstinence from smoking eight years after participation in randomised controlled trial of nicotine patch

Patricia Yudkin, Kate Hey, Sarah Roberts, Sarah Welch, Michael Murphy, and Robert Walton
BMJ 2003 327: 28-29. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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