Methods: The study population included a total of 2,446 adult smokers. Participants were adult current daily smokers of 10 or more CPDs, were willing to make a quit attempt in the next seven days (and receive a follow-up phone call to determine smoking status), and reported no contraindications for using the nicotine patch. A standardized telephone follow-up survey was conducted 3 to 7 months after enrollment to assess patch usage patterns and smoking status. Subjects who reported that they had not smoked in the 7 days prior to the follow-up interview were defined as having quit smoking.

Results: Most subjects reported using at least some of the patches sent to them in the mail, with the amount used associated with the number of free patches sent to smokers. There was no difference in quit rates among the five groups of smokers, even after adjustment for demographic characteristics and potential confounders.

Conclusions: The findings from this study suggest that quit rates are not increased by giving smokers who call a telephone quitline more than a 2-week supply of free nicotine patches.