2005 Volume 56 Issue 5 Pages 424-430
Campaigns for smoking cessation are carried out worldwide, and nicotine replacement therapy is manifesting beneficial effects. Although this therapy has been found to be effective for brief periods in efforts to stop smoking, its long-lasting effect has not been examined.
Ninety-three smokers visited the smoking cessation outpatient clinic of our hospital between September 2001 and July 2004. Of those, 59 (63%) underwent replacement therapy with nicotine patches after a 2-week period during which they made an effort to minimize smoking (least-smoking period). The replacement therapy was given for 2 months. Expired carbon monoxide concentration was measured 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after smoking cessation to assess smoking cessation rates at specific time points and thereby to find out how long the subjects abstained from smoking.
Smoking cessation rates in the 59 subjects who underwent nicotine replacement therapy were 65, 50, 42, and 37% at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively, after smoking cessation. Only one-third of the subjects had abstained from smoking after 12 months. On the other hand, 34 smokers who did not undergo replacement therapy after the 2-week least-smoking period were unable to stop smoking. The proportion of subjects in whom expired carbon monoxide concentration was high at the first visit was larger in this group (20-29 ppm in 9 subjects ; above 30 ppm in 14 subjects) than in the group that underwent replacement therapy.
The smoking cessation rate was initially high, but decreased during the long follow-up period. The finding that a large number of subjects resumed smoking after an initial follow-up period during which they were under strict observation by physicians suggests that education and motivation concerning smoking-derived health impairment were insufficient.
