Internists and nicotine gum
S. R. Cummings, B. Hansen, R. J. Richard, M. J. Stein and T. J. Coates
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
Nicotine gum may be a useful aid to help patients quit smoking. The
effectiveness of the gum and incidence of side effects may depend on using
the gum properly. To describe internists' current practices of prescribing
nicotine gum and other drugs for smoking cessation, we surveyed randomly
selected internists. Most internists prescribe nicotine gum to fewer than
25% of patients who try to quit smoking. Contrary to current
recommendations, nearly half of internists would suggest gum to help
patients cut down on smoking, and a majority would limit its use to less
than three months. There is no evidence that sedatives are useful for
smoking cessation, but one fourth of internists had recently prescribed
them for that purpose. There is a widespread need for physician education
about how to use nicotine gum more effectively.
