Washington Post: Using Nicotine Patch Before Quitting Smoking Ups Success

Article in the Washington Post -- Using Nicotine Patch Before Quit Date Ups Success, by Kathleen Doheny:

Giving nicotine patches a two-week "head start" more than doubles the chances they'll help smokers kick the habit, research finds.

A U.S. team found that by applying the patch 14 daysbeforethat last cigarette, users greatly boosted their long-term success rate.

The initial study was published earlier this year in the journalNicotine and Tobacco Research, and a second trial has now replicated those findings, according to Jed E. Rose, medical research professor and director of Duke University's Center for Nicotine Cessation Research. He led the original study and is co-inventor of the nicotine patch.

BGS