A. Cepedabenito, META-ANALYTICAL REVIEW OF THE EFFICACY OF NICOTINE CHEWING GUM IN SMOKING TREATMENT PROGRAMS, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 61(5), 1993, pp. 822-830
The research on the effectiveness of nicotine gum as a treatment for s
moking was reviewed through a meta-analysis of 33 studies. The differe
ntial effectiveness of experimental (nicotine gum) versus control (pla
cebo and no gum) groups at both short- and long-term follow-up was ind
exed as d, the mean effect size. These effect sizes were contrasted wi
thin each brief and intensive treatments. Nicotine gum was superior to
placebo and no-gum controls at both intervals with the intensive stra
tegies, but the gum was effective only at short term for the brief tre
atments. Results show that the positive effects of nicotine gum in smo
king treatment are a function of an interaction between the gum's phar
macological properties and the effectiveness of intensive treatment st
rategies. The theoretical and clinical implications of the results are
discussed.