Premium
Beliefs about the harms of long‐term use of nicotine replacement therapy: perceptions of smokers in E ngland
Author(s) -
Black Andrew,
Beard Emma,
Brown Jamie,
Fidler Jenny,
West Robert
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03955.x
Subject(s) - nicotine replacement therapy , nicotine , term (time) , medicine , perception , psychology , smoking cessation , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , psychiatry , neuroscience , pathology , physics , quantum mechanics
Aims Previous research has shown that a substantial proportion of smokers believe that nicotine causes serious diseases such as cancer, possibly deterring the use of nicotine replacement therapy ( NRT ) for smoking cessation or smoking reduction. This study examined beliefs about the harms specifically from long‐term use of NRT and associations between these and its use for smoking cessation and smoking reduction. Design and setting Data were collected from 1657 smokers and recent ex‐smokers involved in the S moking T oolkit S tudy, a series of monthly household surveys of E nglish adults aged 16 and over. Measurements Participants were asked if they thought the use of NRT for a year or more was harmful, and if so, to volunteer what they believed the harms to be. They were also asked if they were using NRT for smoking reduction and/or if they had used NRT in the past year during a quit attempt. Findings Six percent and 25% of smokers respectively, believed that the long term use of NRT was very or quit harmful to health; and a further 29% reported that they ‘didn't know’. The most commonly reported harms were addiction and lung cancer. There was no association between these beliefs and use of NRT for smoking reduction or smoking cessation. Conclusion A significant minority of smokers in E ngland believe that the use of nicotine replacement therapy for a year or more is harmful. However, belief that long‐term nicotine replacement therapy use can cause health harm does not appear to act as a deterrent to using it in a quit attempt or for smoking reduction.