SCIENCE : ‘Nicotine Patch’ Used to Kick Habit

More than three-quarters of the people trying to quit smoking were able to do so with the help of nicotine patches in a study at the Mayo Clinic, researchers reported today.

In a six-week study that started last fall, 77% of the people who wore nicotine patches had stopped smoking, said Dr. Richard Hurt, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Smoking Cessation Center and one of the investigators.

The silver-dollar-sized patches slowly release nicotine through the skin to the bloodstream. A control group in the study wore patches not treated with nicotine, and 39% of them quit smoking.

While cautioning that a long-term follow-up study is needed, Hurt said the patch could be a “remarkable advancement” as a tool for helping people stop smoking.