SmithKline Agrees to Modify NicoDerm Ads

SmithKline Beecham has agreed to modify its advertising for its NicoDerm CQ smoking cessation patches. Noting that NicoDerm is similar to the prescription drug Habitrol, the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau recommended that SmithKline change its advertising to indicate claims about NicoDerm are for the over-the-counter category only. Novartis, maker of Habitrol, challenged the truthfulness of SmithKline’s claim that NicoDerm is “the only patch that gradually reduced your nicotine dose in three simple doses.”