As a whiff of fresh change and not tobacco comes a substitute by researchers.
According to a team led by the Clinical Trials Research Unit (CTRU) at The University of Auckland's School of Population Health Smokers people who want to quit smoking have a way out. The chance they have is to adopt replacement nicotine patches or gum in the weeks before they quit cigarettes.The study is funded by the Health Research Council and National Heart Foundation.
Contrary to earlier studies that conventional wisdom is that people trying to quit throw away their cigarettes and immediately replace them with a nicotine substitute, such as nicotine patches or chewing gum. Recent studies point that the earlier use of a nicotine substitute might improve the chances of a person staying smoke free. This was brought to light by Principal investigator Dr Chris Bullen.
He said, “It's been suggested that if a smoker starts using nicotine substitutes about a fortnight before quitting cigarettes, they are significantly more likely to remain smoke free six months later. We want to test this idea in a properly controlled, randomised trial."
The idea is to work with 1100 people, enlisted through the national Quitline. Half the participants will be offered nicotine patches or gum two weeks before they attempt to quit; the other half will begin using the patches or gum on the day that they quit.
Findings from the research will provide useful information about more effective use of nicotine patches and gum for people who want to quit smoking, estimated to number about 430,000 people in New Zealand alone.
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