Drug Therapy (NRT)

Question 1

Strength: RTS STEAD ET AL

Answer 1

Reviewed 150 high quality research studies that compared the use of NRT with a placebo, found that all forms of NRT were significantly more effective in helping smokers quit than placebos and no treatment at all, shows that by reducing withdrawal symptoms and desensitising the nicotine receptors it can reduce smoking addiction, increasing validity of drug therapy

Question 2

Strength: requires little motivation

Answer 2

Patient must wear a patch or chew gum to reduce addiction, unlike CBT which requires more effort and motivation from the patient as they will have to commit to CBT sessions over months and complete homework, must be very motivated, drug therapy more appropriate than CBT

Question 3

Limitation: side effects

Answer 3

Common side effects include sleep disturbance, stomach problems, dizziness and headaches, unlike CBT which is non-invasive as this works on identifying and challenging irrational thoughts around the addictive behaviour, side effects may cause patient to stop treatment and relapse, drug therapy may be ineffective

Question 4

Limitation: does not get root cause

Answer 4

Individual still has the nicotine addiction when using patches or gum, just from a less toxic source, if the root cause of addiction is stress from trauma in childhood, NRT won’t fix this, drug therapy doesn’t completely treat and individuals addiction so it can resurface at any point