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From the JAMA Network
August 18, 2015

Nicotine Replacement Therapy as a Maintenance Treatment

Author Affiliations
  • 1Stanford Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California
JAMA. 2015;314(7):718-719. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.7460

Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality, each year causing an estimated 480 000 deaths in the United States and more than 6 million deaths globally.1 Nicotine addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder. Prolonged tobacco use results in physiologic dependence and a behavioral compulsion to use tobacco. Most smokers (>70%) want to quit, and 40% attempt to do so each year.1 Even though cessation medication and counseling approaches are relatively straightforward, most quit attempts are unassisted (with a 2%-5% success rate), undertreatment is common, and relapse is the norm.

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