Premium
Preference for 2 mg versus 4 mg Nicotine Chewing Gum
Author(s) -
Hajek Peter,
Belcher Michael,
Feyerabend Colin
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
british journal of addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0952-0481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1988.tb00537.x
Subject(s) - chewing gum , nicotine gum , nicotine , medicine , significant difference , food science , chemistry , placebo , alternative medicine , pathology
Summary Smokers attending a 4‐week course of treatment at a Smokers Clinic were given free choice of 2 and 4 mg nicotine chewing gum. Data on gum use beyond the first week of treatment were obtained from 117 gum users. Of these 40.2% were using 2 mg gum only, 24.8% were using 4 mg gum only and 35.0% were using a combination of both. More 2 mg gum was used during the first week but there was no difference in the use of the two preparations during the last 3 weeks of treatment. Smokers clinic clients seem to accept the 4 mg gum well. The choice of the gum was not related to pre‐treatment cigarette consumption, CO and blood nicotine levels, or to questionnaire measures of cigarette dependence. Subjects choosing 4 mg gum or a combination of 2 mg and 4 mg gum used significantly more pieces of gum per day than those using 2 mg gum only, and the nicotine content of their daily gum ration was almost three times higher. Five to 10 weeks after stopping smoking, subjects still using 2 mg gum showed a significant drop in blood nicotine concentration compared with smoking, while 4 mg gum users remained close to their smoking level. Possible reasons for individual differences in gum use are discussed.