The effect of nicotine replacement therapy on the attendance of smoking cessation program among nicotine dependent outpatients

Objective: Education sessions are very important in relapse prevention in smoking cessation programs. Smokers can improve their coping skills to deal with high-risk situations by education. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) on the participation in education sessions. Method: The records of 67 consecutive smokers were assessed retrospectively in a smoking cessation outpatient clinic. All outpatients were diagnosed as nicotine dependence according DSM-IV criteria. The smoking cessation program was consisted of four weekly group education sessions and pharmacotherapy as determined by the patient and clinician preference (nicotine replacement or drug free). The relation of NRT use and attendence to education sessions was investigated. Results: Thirty-two outpatients who received NRT (transdermal nicotine patch and/or nicotine chewing gum) were compared with 35 outpatients who did not receive NRT with respect to the frequency of attendance at education sessions. We found that outpatients who received NRT (25%), attended more sessions than did outpatients who did not receive NRT (5.7%) (p