Novel nicotine inhaler doubles smoking quit rates

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-05/uoo-nni051616.php

Public Release: 17-May-2016
Novel nicotine inhaler doubles smoking quit rates
University of Otago

A study by researchers at New Zealand's University of Otago, Wellington shows that smokers who used a nicotine inhaler were twice as likely to quit smoking as smokers using a placebo inhaler.

The researchers developed and tested a novel nicotine inhaler to see whether it helps smokers to quit smoking. Participants in the study were randomly assigned to receive either a nicotine inhaler plus a nicotine patch, or a placebo inhaler plus a nicotine patch.

•••••

Study team leader Professor Julian Crane from the University of Otago, Wellington, says the findings are the first evidence that inhaled nicotine from a simple standard inhaler is highly effective and substantially increases a smoker's chances of quitting compared to the best current nicotine replacement treatment.

"Currently most smokers use nicotine patches to help them stop smoking. This study shows that if you add a nicotine inhaler to a nicotine patch, it doubles the chances of quitting over a nicotine patch alone," says Professor Crane.

•••••

The nicotine inhaler gives a metered dose of nicotine and offers an alternative therapeutic option for inhaled nicotine using a standard device that has been used for many decades for treatment of asthma.

"But unlike electronic cigarettes, the inhaler has no physical associations to smoking itself," he says.

"It also has benefits in that it is much less likely to be used inappropriately to administer other drugs given that it is a completely sealed unit," notes Professor Crane.

•••••