A study revealed that the extended use of nicotine patches enhances the scope of quitting in smokers.

The study examined 568 adults who had been smoking 10 times a day, for past one year. The smokers, who used nicotine patches for the entire 24 weeks during the study, were twice as likely to quit smoking as those who used the patches for 8 weeks.

By the end of the study, 31.6 % of extended-therapy participants were found to be away from smoking for last 7 days as compared to the 20.3 % of those, on standard therapy. More than 19 % of those in the extended-therapy group did not smoke at all during the study when compared to 12.6 % of those in the standard-therapy group.

Also, the smokers on extended therapy abstained from smoking, for longer and were likely to stop smoking again if they suffered a relapse.

"Our data suggests that the many smokers who relapse while trying to quit will be especially helped by extended treatment, which appears to make it easier for smokers to 'get back on the wagon' after a small smoking slip, instead of having it turn into a full-blown relapse", said Robert Schnoll, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in the report.