Learning Objectives: To understand how smokers currently perceive and use stop smoking mediations.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To assess smokers’ knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and utilization of stop smoking medications.
METHODS: Data were collected with a 25-minute random-digit dialed telephone survey conducted with a nationally representative sample of 1,046 adult smokers between May and September 2001.
RESULTS: Awareness of the skin patch and gum was high (>90%) but low for the nicotine inhaler and nasal spray (40% and 9%, respectively). Two-thirds of subjects have heard of Zyban. Twenty percent of subjects had used any stop smoking medication in the past 12 months with greatest use of the patch, gum, and Zyban (12%, 8%, and 5% respectively). About 25% of those who used the patch, gum, or Zyban did so with the intention of just cutting down, and about 15% were concerned about becoming addicted to these products. About 60% of pharmacotherapy users read at least half of the package insert. About one-third of users tried the product for less than one week, one-third used the product between 30 and 90 days, and up to 10% of users were taking their medication for at least one year. Half of smokers believed that nicotine is a cause of cancer and only one-third of smokers correctly reported that their risk of a heart attack was less from the patch than smoking cigarettes. Additional data will be reported on the correlates of the behaviors.
CONCLUSION: Many smokers are not using these medications as directed, which highlights the need for research and surveillance to monitor these trends and to assess their relationship with health and behavioral outcomes.
Back to Ideas on Cessation
Back to Cessation, Nicotine, and the Science of Addiction
Back to The 2002 National Conference on Tobacco or Health