The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7407 p8
1 July 2006

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Smoking cessation therapies need to be used in new ways

Smoking cessation medicines such as nicotine-replacement therapy and rimonabant (which was launched this week as a treatment for obesity, see above) may have to be used in new ways to help prompt smokers to quit, John Hughes, of the department of psychiatry, University of Vermont, US, has told The Journal.

He said that smoking cessation therapies could be used by those not currently interested in quitting to relieve withdrawal symptoms or cravings during temporary abstinence and to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke.

They could also be used by those trying to quit, he added, to help reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke before they decide to give up completely and to prevent relapses after quit attempts.

Dr Hughes was speaking ahead of the UK National Smoking Cessation Conference in Gateshead this week.