Effects of Phenylpropanolamine and Nicotine Gum on Women

Overview

Often, many smokers fail to quit smoking or even choose not to quit due to the possibility of weight gain associated with quitting smoking. In this study, the researchers aimed to test how well two different types of pharmacotherapy in combination with thirteen weeks of behavioral counseling worked for women who wanted to quit smoking but may have had concerns about gaining weight.

The two pharmacological methods used in this study were: nicotine gum and phenylpropanolamine (PPA) gum. PPA has been shown to have potential as a weight control agent; it was sold at the time of the study in over-the-counter (OTC) weight control appetite suppressants. PPA gum was compared to nicotine gum and to a placebo gum for the study.

Design

A total of 439 women enrolled in the study; the researchers randomly assigned them to one of the following three groups: PPA gum and counseling; nicotine gum and counseling; and placebo gum and counseling.

The behavioral counseling consisted of weekly sixty minute group sessions that focused on developing problem-solving strategies for quitting, preventing relapse and managing weight while quitting. During the first four weeks, participants reduced their cigarette use by 25% each week. Week five was designated as the quit week; participants set quit dates within week five and group facilitators supported them throughout the quit process.

At the quit date, each participant received her weekly supply of gum (PPA, nicotine, or placebo) as well as instructions on the frequency and quantity of gum chewing.

Findings

The researchers evaluated whether or not participants were quit as soon as the study ended and at six and twelve month follow-up sessions. They learned that there was no significant difference in quitting between any of the groups; in other words, no one treatment stood out as better than the other two treatments. Furthermore, no significant differences in weight change (after quitting) were found among the groups; though a slight decrease in weight gain was found in the PPA gum group. Nonetheless, the researchers did find one significant association; for every counseling session attended, smokers were 1.2 times more likely to quit smoking.

Conclusion

The results of this study show that neither nicotine gum nor PPA gum had a significant effect on reducing weight gain after quitting smoking. Furthermore, there were no differences among treatment groups in cessations rates. The results do support the importance of completing each behavioral counseling session as part of increasing one’s likelihood of quit smoking. Therefore, the behavioral counseling component of the intervention was effective in increasing the odds of quitting smoking in weight-concerned women.

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