The effect of over-the-counter sales of the nicotine patch and nicotine gum on smoking cessation in California.

The Food and Drug Administration approved over-the-counter (OTC) sale of nicotine gum and nicotine patches in 1996. We used data from the 1996 California Tobacco Survey to compare the rates of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) use and smoking abstinence in California for each month during a period immediately preceding and immediately following the OTC availability of nicotine gum and patches. For smokers eligible to report a quit attempt, the proportion making a quit attempt using NRT and the proportion remaining abstinent was calculated for each of the 12 months prior to the survey interview. Multiple regression modeling of quit attempts and abstinence included a term for the number of months between the quit attempt and survey interview and dummy variables for the months before and after the OTC availability of NRT. Results showed a significant increase in the fraction of smokers using the patch (P < 0.01) and gum (P < 0.05) immediately following their availability OTC. There was also a significantly higher proportion of smokers reporting abstinence with gum use (P < 0.01) and a significant increase in reported abstinence with patch use (P < 0.01) during the period of time immediately following the availability of these products without a prescription. The results of this study suggest that removing the prescription status of NRT products resulted in an immediate increase in quit attempts and smoking abstinence with the use of nicotine gum or patches.