Smoking Cessation With Smokeless Tobacco, Nicotine Tablets and Nicotine Patches

Smoking Cessation by Nurses With Smokeless Tobacco Buccal Tablets, Nicotine Buccal Tablets, Nicotine Patches With Repeated Therapy Every 6 Months for 2 Years

To test if smokeless tobacco is more effective than nicotine buccal tablets in smoking cessation compared with a control group with low dose nicotine patches. Also retreatment will be tested with smokeless tobacco every 6 months in failures for 1½ year. Adherence to the program will be enhanced by assessment of cholesterol, blood pressure, lung function and body weight every 6 months for 2 years.

This is an open randomized controlled trial with 3 groups testing smokeless tobacco in smoking cessation: 200 smokers will get smokeless tobacco for 3 months, 200 will get nicotine buccal tablets for 3 months and 200 will get 7-mg nicotine patches for 3 months (control arm). After ½, 1 and 1½ a year failures will get smokeless tobacco in the first 2 groups, while only 7 mg nicotine patches in control group until 1½ year where failures in this group also will get smokeless tobacco. Every ½ year cholesterol, blood pressure, lung function and BMI will be assessed and used to enhance adherence of the participants in this trial.

smoking cessation, smokeless tobacco, nicotine patch, nicotine buccal tablets, retreatment, adherence

Inclusion Criteria: smokers (>7 cig/day) Healthy Allowed: treated hypertension, diabetes treated with tablets, increased cholesterol,other "mild" diseases mild asthma and COPD, Motivated to quit smoking Motivated to follow the protocol Motivated to use medication in this trial Exclusion Criteria: Severe diseases Psychiatric diseases Used NRT or Zyban the last 2 weeks Stopped smoking >2 days during last 3 months More than 6 alcoholic drinks per day Smokes other products than cigarettes Pregnant of lactating