title: An open trial of transdermal nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation among alcohol- and drug-dependent inpatients.
abstract: An open trial of transdermal nicotine replacement for smoking cessation was conducted. Over a 7-month period, all patients admitted to the inpatient alcohol and drug treatment unit of the Seattle Veterans Affairs Medical Center, (n = 207) were offered the opportunity to participate in an open trial of transdermal nicotine replacement for smoking cessation. Forty-nine (23.7%) elected to attempt cessation with transdermal nicotine during their inpatient treatment episodes. These subjects received no psychosocial treatments directed specifically at smoking cessation. They smoked a mean of 28.5 (SD = 16.4) cigarettes per day and obtained a mean score of 8.3 (SD = 1.9) on the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence. Subjects remained on transdermal nicotine an average of 18.8 (SD = 8.2) days with desire to resume smoking the major reason for discontinuation. Seven subjects (14.3%) self-reported tobacco abstinence at 21 days, and 5 (10.2%) self-reported abstinence as outpatients at 6 weeks. These results show that a substantial proportion of alcohol- and drug-dependent patients entering inpatient treatment are willing to attempt alcohol and illicit drug cessation and tobacco cessation simultaneously and that transdermal nicotine holds promise as a treatment modality in this population.
authors.affiliation: VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, USA. Saxon.Andrew_J+@Seattle.VA.Gov
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Saxon
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McGuffin
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D009538:Nicotine