NICOTINE GUM AND SELF-HELP BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT FOR SMOKING RELAPSE PREVENTION - RESULTS FROM A TRIAL USING POPULATION-BASED RECRUITMENT

Smokers aged 18 to 65 years (N = 1,044) who were able to quit for 24 h r were randomized using a 2 X 2 Factorial design to compare nicotine g um to no gum use and self-help materials to no use of materials. All p articipants were offered a $100 incentive to quit and stay quit for 6 months. Six-month abstinence was 27% in the gum groups, compared with 198 in the no-gum group (p = .002). Compared with the no-gum group, re lapse occurred at a significantly lower rate in the gum group for the entire 12 months of follow-up (odds of relapse in the gum group was 0. 72, 95% confidence interval, 0.62 to 0.83). There was no significant m ain effect for the self-help materials, no interaction between gum and materials, and no evidence that the effectiveness of gum differed bet ween the sexes or between heavy and light smokers. Nicotine gum is an effective adjunct to minimal-contact smoking cessation materials plus monetary incentive in a population-based sample of smokers.