Patch is not the fix

New research suggests nicotine patches and gum intended to wean smokers off cigarettes could backfire in the long run.

The study, which was published in the journal Tobacco Control on Jan. 9, involved about 800 people in Massachusetts attempting to quit over several years, according to the New York Times. The participants were interviewed every two years, and the researchers found that about one-third of the smokers had relapsed at each stage. The subgroup of “heavy smokers” (individuals who have their first cigarette within 30 minutes of waking up) using nicotine replacement products were twice as likely to relapse as heavy smokers who did not use the products.

“We were hoping for a very different story,” said Dr. Gregory Connolly, director of Harvard’s Center for Global Tobacco Control and co-author of the study. “I ran a treatment program for years, and we invested millions in treatment services.”