April 30, 2002

A Startling Admission Those who have doubts about the efficacy of smoking cessation therapies had those doubts confirmed by one of the major players in smoking cessation treatment. In a study that is designed to promote over-the-counter sales of smoking cessation products, GlaxoSmithKline reports that such sales "yield smoking cessation success rates as good as when administered under a physician's prescription".

In other words, eliminating the doctor, or any other professional, from the equation makes little difference in the success of smoking cessation treatment. This conclusion is hardly surprising since increased sales of these products is GlaxoSmithKline's goal. Persuading smokers to buy cessation devices without the hassle of making an appointment with a doctor should increase sales for those companies in the cessation business. What is surprising is that by comparing the stop-smoking effective rate between smokers who self-administer the products with those who obtain the devices via their doctor, GlaxoSmithKline lets the cat out of the bag.

Nicotine gum users who obtain their gum over-the-counter had, at six weeks, a verified success rate of 16.1 percent compared to 7.7 percent for those who involve their doctor. At six months the over-the-counter crowd had achieved a 8.4 percent cessation rate compared to the unchanged rate of 7.7 percent for those who obtained the nicotine gum from their doctors.

For nicotine patches the comparisons were similar with a six-week success rate of 19.0 for those buying over-the-counter and 16.0 for physician-assisted cessation treatment. At six months the cessation rates plunged to 9.2 percent and a miserable 3.0 percent cessation for those whose doctors supplied the patches.

A better way of looking at this is to say that the failure rate for nicotine gum treatment ranges from a low of 83.9 percent to a high of 92.3 percent. For the patch the failure rate is 81 percent to 97 percent. For both, the failure rate dramatically rises the longer the individual uses the devices. Had GlaxoSmithKline reported on the cessation rates at one year, the failure rate would most likely have been nearly 100 percent. These failure rates are astonishing and would warrant an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration if any other drug or medication were involved. Consumer groups would be screaming about the deception of the innumerable advertisements on television and radio that never mention these products' astronomical failure rates. The news is not that over-the-counter cessation sales are as effective as doctor-initiated sales but that both are abominable failures and a monumental waste of time and money. [emphasis added]