Students hooked to satisfying their nicotine addictions with a cigarette might be out of luck when it comes to putting their habit to bed for good.
Though nicotine-replacement therapies such as nicotine gum and patches can provide a temporary fix, they might not deliver a long-term solution.
A recent study published in the Tobacco Journal suggests smokers looking to kick the habit might have to seek solutions beyond nicotine replacement therapy.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the discovery came after a study performed by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Massachusetts Boston surveyed several hundred smokers.
The study concluded that smokers who utilize nicotine-replacement therapies such as nicotine gum and patches are just as likely to revert to smoking cigarettes as those who quit “cold turkey.”
Roger Barnhouse, a pharmacist at Campus Care, said smokers utilizing nicotine-replacement therapies tend to relapse rather than kicking the habit.
“Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs known to man,” Barnhouse said.
Additionally, Barnhouse said many smokers risk becoming addicted to the replacement therapies themselves.
“The problem with the patches and the gum, the long-term effect, is the person becomes addicted to the patches and the gum rather than the cigarettes.”
James Gaskell, health commissioner at the Athens City-County Health Department, said a common scenario is that smokers have initial luck with nicotine replacements but relapse by the end of the year.
“I think that whatever drugs are used also need to be used with what we call cognitive therapy,” Gaskell said.
But Ohio University students looking to undergo nicotine-replacement therapy in conjunction with other methods of smoking cessation might find alternative therapies sparse on campus.
Terry Koons, associate director for the Campus Involvement Center, said no formalized program is in place at the center. Koons said Campus Involvement doesn’t endorse any single type of smoking-cessation model.
Additionally, no formal cessation programs are in place at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital or Campus Care.
Linda Weis, public relations manager at O’Bleness, said that, in lieu of an official program, the hospital holds hypnosis sessions led by Don Mannarino, a hypnotist based out of Cleveland.
Mannarino, who is a former hypnotist for the American Lung Association, said he visits the hospital once every three months to conduct one-hour hypnosis sessions.
He said that, according to research conducted by the American Lung Association, one of his hypnosis sessions effectively helps smokers quit nine out of 10 times.
Weis said the hospital does not have a formal program because of a lack of funding.
Several smoking-cessation projects, including one that targeted pregnant tobacco users, have been defunded, Gaskell said.
The Athens City-County Health Department also does not have a formal smoking-cessation program.
Kim Knapp-Browne, tobacco education and prevention coordinator at the department, works with various school systems to promote smoke-free campuses.
“We run our own program funded partly by state funds but also funded in part by our local taxation,” Gaskell said.
However, Knapp-Browne does not hold office hours or classes for students looking to ditch the habit.
