NEW YORK TIMES: The nicotine gum and patches that millions of smokers use to help kick their habit have no lasting benefit and may backfire in some cases, according to the most rigorous long-term study to date of so-called nicotine replacement therapy.
The study, published Monday in the journal Tobacco Control, included nearly 800 people trying to quit smoking over a period of several years, and is likely to inflame a long-running debate about the value of nicotine alternatives…
Dr. [Richard] Hurt said products like nicotine gum and patches “are absolutely essential, but we use them in combinations and doses that match treatment to what the individual patient needs,” unlike smokers who are self-treating. … (more)
EDITOR: Breaking the smoking habit is not much different from overcoming heroin addiction. A problem with Suboxone treatment when simply by presciption is there often is no ongoing counseling. A problem with methadone treatment which is exclusively provided through compulsory state regulated clinics is that counseling and supervision may extend too long.
G’Day! Newslanc,
Cool Post, How hard is it to break the Nicotine habit? Nicotine addiction has been compared to heroin and cocaine addiction in severity-the worst part, the withdrawal and the craving. If you’ve tried to quit cold turkey, then you know about the irritability, impatience, hostility, anxiety, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, headaches, and most of all, the craving.
Remember “I’d walk a mile for a Camel”? After 24 hours going cold turkey, I’d have run a marathon to find a butt at the bottom of a trashcan with a couple of hits left on it. (Well, actually, when I was smoking I couldn’t have run around the block-but I know from experience all about scrounging for a butt in the trash.)
Great Job!
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