NRT more effective than placebo

Nicotine replacement therapy helps smokers quit and abstain more effectively than a placebo, according to a meta-analysis published online April 2 by the British Medical Journal. A review of seven randomized, placebo-controlled trials of NRT use shows 6.75 percent of smokers using NRT abstained from smoking for six months - twice the rate of smokers using a placebo. Researchers led by David Moore at the School of Health and Population Sciences at the University of Birmingham added that 8.7 percent of study participants tolerated NRT with no adverse effects except some nausea. NRT marketers cite smokers' greater chances of successfully quitting in advertising for the products (see related story)

Nicotine replacement therapy helps smokers quit and abstain more effectively than a placebo, according to a meta-analysis published online April 2 by the British Medical Journal. A review of seven randomized, placebo-controlled trials of NRT use shows 6.75 percent of smokers using NRT abstained from smoking for six months - twice the rate of smokers using a placebo. Researchers led by David Moore at the School of Health and Population Sciences at the University of Birmingham added that 8.7 percent of study participants tolerated NRT with no adverse effects except some nausea. NRT marketers cite smokers' greater chances of successfully quitting in advertising for the products (see (Also see "Cigarette Tax Hike Sparks NRT Marketing Opportunities" - Pink Sheet, 6 Apr, 2009.) ).