Adherence to nicotine replacement therapy among Chinese smokers who had no intention to quit smoking

IntroductionEvidence had shown that nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is effective to help smokers quit. Many studies reported a positive linear relationship between adherence and cessation rates however, adherence to NRT among unmotivated smokers is uncertain.MethodsChinese smokers who aged ≥18, had no intention to quit within 4-week and had no contraindication to NRT were recruited and randomly allocated to Group A1, A2 and B in a RCT. Only Group A1 and A2 were provided 8-week free NRT. We reported 8-week adherence rate to NRT at 3-month and reasons for non-compliance among subjects in Group A1 and A2.ResultsFrom October 2004 to April 2007, 1154 smokers were recruited (Group A1=479; A2=449; B=226). Subjects in Group A1 and A2 (n=928) were 42.0±10.3 year-old and smoked 19.6±9.4 cigarettes daily on average. We contacted 797 subjects (85.9%) for 3-month follow-up, but those who did not receive 8-week free NRT (n=115; 14.4%) were removed from the analysis. 55.4% (378/682) used NRT as the recommended regime, 41.6% (284/682) did not fully comply with the prescription and 3.0% (20/682) even did not use it. Among 304 (n=284+20) who did not comply, “Forget to use” (24.0%) and “Side effects” (14.5%) are the two most cited reasons for non-compliance.ConclusionThe adherence rate in this study is more encouraging compared to a local study (20%) which only provided 1-week free NRT. Thus, providing the entire course of free NRT seems to yield an improved NRT adherence among unmotivated Chinese smokers.