A study published in the British Medical Journal has shown that when smokers do not necessarily want to quit but to want to cut down, nicotine replacement therapy can significantly improve their chances of quitting completely.
The study pointed out that each year, while half of all British smokers try to give up the habit, only some 2 to 3% succeed. Researchers in the U.S have suggested that the average smoker will attempt to stop smoking 6 to 11 times. Each year, smoking-related illnesses cost the NHS between £1.4 and £ 1.7 billion each year.
The researchers from the University of Birmingham studied 3000 smokers who received nicotine replacement therapy for 6 to 18 months. They found that the number of smokers who managed not to smoke for 6 months was twice that of those smokers taking a placebo, a total of 6.75%. However the Birmingham team said that as the group using nicotine replacement patches were also receiving behavioural support and monitoring, they could not be sure how great an impact this had on the results.
The researchers have said the overall results amount to 3% of smokers quitting who otherwise would not have done so. In the article, the scientists also remarked that “previous data suggests that half of those who sustain 6 months of abstinence will maintain it for the rest of their lives.” They continued by recommending that providing smokers not contemplating quitting with treatment nonetheless might be a good strategy. They wrote, “The importance of these trials is that they show that treating a population of smokers not ready to stop means more of them stop. Therefore it is important to examine how nicotine assisted reduction to stop can be incorporated into tobacco control programs.”