'Mints' help smokers to give up
10/30/01
A NEW type of nicotine replacement therapy to help smokers to give up cigarettes was launched yesterday in the form of mint-flavoured lozenges.
The makers claim that smokers who use them are three times more likely to quit than those who do not. Other nicotine replacement methods such as patches and chewing gum are generally considered to double a smoker's chances of quitting.
Research involving 1,818 smokers over six months suggests that the lozenges may be more effective because of their fast action and because of the different way of estimating which of the two strengths of lozenge a smoker should take.
For the first time, nicotine dependency has been calculated not on how many cigarettes a smoker uses a day, but on how long it is before a smoker lights up the first one of the day. NiQuitin CQ Lozenges cost around £17.49 for a week's supply from chemists.
Prof Gordon McVie, director general of the Cancer Research Campaign, said: "I am impressed with the results from this trial, which seem extremely encouraging."
Cigarettes
