Caj. Ruiz et al., SMOKING CESSATION WITH A 16 H NICOTINE PATCH - RESULTS IN A GROUP OF HOSPITAL WORKERS, The European respiratory journal, 10(3), 1997, pp. 573-575
As part of a programme for the implementation of a Smoking Control Pol
icy in our hospital, an open study, without randomization, of 65 hospi
tal workers, who wanted to give up smoking, was carried out. The chara
cteristics of smoking in each subject were recorded. The Fagerstrom Qu
estionnaire was used to measure the degree of dependence on nicotine.
The treatment consisted of the daily use of 16 h nicotine patches for
12 weeks. During the first 4 weeks, the patches contained 15 mg of nic
otine, for the second 4 weeks, 10 mg, and for the last 4 weeks 5 mg (p
er patch and day). Five visits were scheduled during the 26 week study
period: at the start of the study and after 4, 8, 12 and 26 weeks. Th
e abstinence was checked by measuring carbon monoxide in end-expirator
y air.The success rate was 31% after 12 weeks, and decreased to 29% af
ter 26 weeks. In conclusion, the nicotine patches appeared safe and ef
fective in this study.