Nicotine myths prevent smokers from quitting
Misconceptions about the role of nicotine are preventing smokers from using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) when they attempt to quit, data due to be presented at the UK National Smoking Cessation Conference in London this week suggest.
More than two-thirds of UK smokers (71 per cent) believe that the nicotine
in cigarettes causes lung cancer, 62 per cent believe that it causes
heart attacks and heart disease and 69 per cent believe that nicotine
in smoking cessation aids is as harmful as smoking cigarettes, the study
found. And only 14 per cent of those who believed that nicotine in smoking
cessation aids is as harmful as smoking cigarettes planned to use NRT
during their next quit attempt, compared with 38 per cent of those who
thought NRT was less harmful than cigarettes.
Commenting on the findings, Graham Phillips, who runs a smoking cessation
service at his pharmacy in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, said: “Pharmacists
should explain to smokers that when they light up, it is the nicotine
that gives them the hit and the rest of the smoke that can cause cancer.
It is vital that customers are educated about the comparative safety
of NRT versus continuing smoking and NRT’s proven effectiveness
in helping people to quit successfully.” |
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