Nicotine preloading may be beneficial for smoking cessation
KEY POINT
Use of a nicotine patch worn for 4 weeks before attempting to quit smoking resulted in higher odds of abstinence at 4 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months compared with no nicotine preloading, but only after adjustments were made for subsequent varenicline use in the two groups.
SOURCES
The Preloading Investigators. Effects on abstinence of nicotine patch treatment before quitting smoking: Parallel, two arm, pragmatic randomised trial. BMJ. 2018;[Epub ahead of print].
