Patch offers alternative for smokers

If you’re trying to quit smoking and you’re wondering if that nicotine patch is working, you… If you’re trying to quit smoking and you’re wondering if that nicotine patch is working, you might be heartened by a recent Pitt medical study that confirms patches will work with perseverance.

The study, titled “Analyzing Milestones in Smoking Cessation: Illustration in a Nicotine Patch Trial in Adult Smokers,” was conducted by Pitt professor and psychologist Saul Shiffman. It was published on May 2 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

The study is said to be the first of its kind in that it analyzed the effectiveness of a nicotine patch even after a patch user “cheated” and smoked a cigarette during the quitting process.

“The study is not so much about whether the patch is helpful as it is about how the patch helps people and in what parts of the quitting process,” Shiffman said. “What had not been previously documented that we had found is that if you cheated but then stayed with the patch, you can still succeed in quitting.”

“Many people don’t even cheat with a full cigarette; they often just have a ‘few puffs,'” Shiffman added.

According to Shiffman, many people drop the patch once they begin “cheating.” This is one main reason why people don’t succeed in quitting.

“People who drop the patch when they cheat and begin smoking cigarettes again, often do so because of a popular myth that you will die if you smoke a cigarette and wear a nicotine patch at the same time, which is not accurate at all,” Shiffman said.

However, there are still unpleasant effects attached to the simultaneous use of nicotine patches and cigarettes, according to substance abuse prevention specialist Joe Mull, who heads the Health Education Department’s QUIT (Quit Using Irritating Tobacco) program.

“Most people are aware that there are adverse effects when you smoke while wearing a patch,” Mull said. “It won’t kill you, but you may feel sick and suffer uncomfortable effects like stomach pains.”

Mull said Shiffman’s study helps to reinforce that the patch is not a “quick fix.” He said that if used with a program, the patch will work.

“It’s encouraging, as it’s telling us that people can succeed with the patch, but you have to stick with it,” Mull said.

“Patches don’t work as quickly as you might think from seeing the commercials,” Mull added. “It’s not always that easy.”

“When you have a patch on, it’s not actually dealing with the physical addiction,” Mull said. “In our program we have people go on the patch so we can help them deal with psychological, habit-related cravings associated with cigarettes.”

Reflecting the findings of Shiffman’s study, Mull recalled that the success rate of quitting for people in the six-week QUIT Program is high among those who toughed it through the whole program.

For people hopeful to quit smoking, both Shiffman’s study and the QUIT program point to a common message: Stick with the quitting process, stick with the patch and you should succeed in quitting.

Shiffman does not want people to necessarily conclude from his study that quitting is principally a matter of willpower, though. He emphasizes that the study simply helps confirm the usefulness of the nicotine patch.

“The practical implication is that the patch will help you quit,” he said.