July 19th 2006
While nicotine-replacement products such as gum, inhalers, pills, and the patch are helping smokers to quit, the addictive nature of nicotine is making it difficult for smokers to use these smoking-cessation aids properly, theNew York Times reported.
"We estimate 36.6 percent of current gum users are engaged in persistent use," said Dr. Saul Shiffman, a consultant for the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures Nicorette and other stop-smoking products. Shiffman was the lead author of a study conducted that found that more than a third of nicotine-gum users continued using the product beyond the 12 weeks recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Cigarettes have far more toxic additives than replacement products and pose greater health risks, but scientists note that nicotine also is classified as a poison. Recent research has shown that when nicotine breaks down in the body it may cause abnormal cell growth.
"As long as people are using nicotine replacements properly, it's a win for all of us, if we can get people to stop smoking. But I would urge people not to use it long-term," said Dr. John Cooke, lead author of a Stanford University study that found that nicotine increases the growth of malignant tumors.
Some smoking-cessation experts, as well as former smokers, are against using any nicotine when trying to quit. "It's like the difference between snorting cocaine and freebasing it," said John Palagonia, 53, of Massapequa, N.Y., who became addicted to nicotine gum while trying to quit his 20-year, two-pack-a-day smoking addiction. After attending years of Nicotine Anonymous meetings, he has been off cigarettes and nicotine-replacement products for a decade.
"The trick with getting off cigarettes is to stop delivering the drug," said Joel Spitzer, a smoking-cessation counselor and director of education at WhyQuit.com, an online support and education site. Spitzer says nicotine-replacement products keep ex-smokers in a prolonged state of withdrawal
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