Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 11, pp. 331-335, 1986 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. 0306-4603/86 $3.00 + .OO Copyright e 1986 Pergamon Journals Ltd BRIEF REPORT BEHAVIORAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF CIGARETTE SMOKING: END OF TREATMENT COMPARISONS HARRIET DEWIT University of Chicago Medical School PAUL M. CAMIC University of Chicago Medical School Abstract-Success in a stop-smoking treatment program was compared in patients who re- ceived behavioral treatment alone (BT) or behavioral treatment plus Nicorette gum (NT). The proportion of nonsmokers at the end of the IO-week program was higher with the groups receiving BT (82%) than in those receiving NT (SOCrro). While the groups differed in their initial tolerance levels and number of previous quit attempts, the data suggest that the addition of Nicorette gum did not confer a substantial advantage over BT alone. Behavioral treatments of smoking cessation have proven to be one of the most suc- cessful methods of treatment available (Lichtenstein, 1982). These treatments encom- pass a variety of behavioral and cognitive-behavioral interventions to reduce smoking behavior, such as aversive conditioning, positive reinforcement of alternative non- smoking behaviors, and manipulations that decrease the effectiveness of conditioned stimuli or discriminative stimuli setting the occasion for smoking. Recently, many behavioral programs have successfully incorporated special strategies such as thought stopping, relaxation training, and stress management procedures for prevention of relapse to smoking after cessation (Hall, Bachman, Henderson, Barstow, & Jones, 1983; Marlatt & Gordon, 1980). One often overlooked weak point in many smoking cessation treatment programs is the drop-out rate; that is, the number of individuals who initiate but fail to complete the programs. Assuming that at least some proportion of drop-outs occurred because of the aversive consequences of nicotine withdrawal, the introduction of Nicorette gum as an adjunct in behavioral treatment programs was seen by some as a way to improve the high drop-out rate by minimizing withdrawal symptoms. In the present analysis, we compared patient groups who completed and failed to complete either a purely behavioral (BT) or a behavioral plus Nicorette (NT) treatment program. Previous reports indicate that the gum is effective in reducing withdrawal discomfort (Schneider, Jarvik, & Forsyth, 1984). A number of researchers have reported that the use of the gum increases the overall success rate of smoking cessation programs (Hughes & Miller, 1984). However, many questions about the efficacy of the gum re- main unanswered. For example, it may be that certain individuals are more likely than others to benefit from the gum or certain instructions for gum use may be more ef- ficacious. The Smoking Cessation Program at the University of Chicago began its first trial of Requests for reprints should be sent to Dr. P.M. Camic, Box 411, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 331