NICOTINE PATCH USE IN THE GENERAL-POPULATION - RESULTS FROM THE 1993 CALIFORNIA TOBACCO SURVEY

Background: Evidence from controlled clinical trials indicates that us e of a transdermal nicotine patch improves abstinence rates up to a ye ar after initial smoking cessation, Whether these results can be gener alized to the general population has not been extensively investigated . Purpose: We sought to determine what characteristics of smokers tryi ng to quit are associated with nicotine patch use in the general popul ation and whether there is evidence that patch use promotes successful smoking cessation. Methods: As part of the 1993 California Tobacco Su rvey, 3281 respondents who had attempted to quit smoking cigarettes wi thin the last year were asked whether they had used a prescribed medic ation to help them quit smoking and, if so, what type of medication it was, They were also asked whether they used other assistance. Results : Compared with nonusers, patch users (nearly 11% of quitters) were mo re likely to be female, white or Asian, middle-aged, and to smoke more heavily. Many people relapsed to smoking while they were still using a patch. However, no evidence suggested that the patch was addictive. Use of a nicotine patch did not result in a statistically significant difference in abstinence rates among those who did not also use some o ther form of assistance (logrank test, P = .466), It did make a statis tically significant difference when used in combination with another a id (logrank test, P = .017). At 6 months, abstinence rates were 15% fo r those without other forms of assistance whether or not they used a p atch, 10.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.1-16.8) for those with o ther assistance who did not use a patch, and 18.8% (95% CI = 5.7-31.8) for those with other assistance who did use a patch. Conclusions: The nicotine patch appears to be an important aid to smokers who want to quit, primarily when used as an adjuvant to other forms of assistance. Implications: Further studies are needed to determine what factors ar e associated with quitting success among patch users.