Mailing Free Nicotine Replacement Patches to Smokers Can Help Some Quit

Mailing free nicotine replacement patches to smokers who are interested in giving up cigarettes can help some of them quit, a new study finds.

The smokers in the study did not receive counseling or other support, HealthDay reports.

Researchers sent a five-week course of nicotine patches to 500 smokers. After six months, the rate of participants who said they hadn’t smoked in the past month was more than double the rate of 499 smokers who did not receive free nicotine patches. About half of participants returned saliva samples, which researchers tested to confirm they had stopped smoking.

The rates of smoking cessation in both groups were low—2.8 percent among those receiving patches, compared with 1 percent among those who didn’t receive the patches.

The findings are published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

In another study published this week, researchers found smoking cessation pills are no more effective than nicotine patches or lozenges in helping people quit, according to Reuters.

The study included more than 1,000 smokers who received counseling to help them quit. They were randomly assigned to receive three months of treatment with either nicotine lozenges plus patches; patches alone; or varenicline (Chantix).

After one year, about one-fifth of smokers were able to quit, regardless of which treatment they received, the researchers report in JAMA. Smokers who took varenicline had more side effects, such as insomnia, nausea and constipation.