Nicotine patches branded a waste of time as study finds they don't help smokers quit long-term

• Former smokers just as likely to relapse if they used nicotine replacement therapies to help them quit

Unsuccessful? Nicotine replacement therapy was found to have no impact on quitting success in the latest study

Nicotine patches are no  better than willpower at  helping smokers to quit, research shows.
Earlier clinical trials had suggested nicotine replacement therapy could double a smoker’s chances of giving up the habit.
But a new study of 800 patients found patches made no difference to long-term quitting rates.
Researchers said the earlier trials had failed to replicate ‘real-life’ situations. They said success and relapse rates were similar whatever method smokers adopted.
The NHS spends an estimated £84million a year on stop smoking   programmes. A week’s supply of patches, which can be obtained on prescription, cost £10 to £14.
The latest study – by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Massachusetts, Boston – investigated patients who gave up smoking between 2001 and 2006.
It concluded: ‘The main finding is that persons who quit relapsed at equivalent rates, whether or not they used nicotine replacement therapy to help them in their quit attempts, in clear distinction to the results o