Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:56-60
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association
Effects of behavioral skills training and schedule of nicotine gum administration on smoking cessation
MG Goldstein, R Niaura, MJ Follick and DB Abrams
Department of Psychiatry, Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI 02906.
Eighty-nine smokers were randomly assigned to four nicotine gum treatments
for smoking cessation: behavioral treatment plus a fixed schedule of
nicotine gum, behavioral treatment plus an ad lib schedule, education plus
a fixed schedule, and education plus an ad lib schedule. The four treatment
conditions produced similar rates of abstinence (40.9% to 58.3%) at the end
of 11 weeks of treatment. However, at 6- month follow-up, the subjects who
had received behavioral treatment had a significantly better abstinence
rate (36.7%) than those receiving education (17.5%). Nicotine gum schedule
had no effect on treatment outcome.
