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Most patients who smoke don’t receive counseling or pharmacotherapy, and even when such treatments are provided, they have only modest efficacy. In two studies, researchers evaluated whether more-intensive smoking-cessation efforts can improve outcomes.
In one study, 127 adult smokers in New Jersey who had medical illnesses (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic pulmonary disease) were assigned randomly to transdermal nicotine alone or to combination therapy (transdermal nicotine, nicotine inhaler, and bupropion). At 26 weeks, more people assigned to combination therapy than to transdermal patches alone were abstinent (35% vs. 19%).
In another study, 750 smokers who visited Kansas primary care practices were offered free treatment e…