A thoughtful gift from nonsmokers to smoking friends.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now approved the prescription product Nicorette gum for over-the-counter sale. Available in two strengths, the nicotine-containing gum will be sold as a 12-week program for kicking the smoking habit, with accompanying user's guide and audiotape. The 2-mg gum is recommended for those smoking less than 25 cigarettes a day, while the 4-mg gum is for heavier smokers.

Experience has shown that only half of those following the program will be able to stop smoking for only a few days, and most will go back to the evil weed by the time a month has passed. Most smokers will therefore have to go through the process at least several times before achieving lasting success. Although the success rate of smoking-cessation programs is notoriously low, smokers who really want to quit have a much better chance of doing so if strongly supported by their personal physicians. They should therefore let their doctors know that they are going on this do-it-yourself program--and get the doctor involved, if he or she is one of the relatively few doctors who have been unable to quit smoking!

Although there may rarely be some toxic effects in using nicotine gum, they are much less of a hazard than the effects of continued smoking, as determined by the joint advisory panel--the Nonprescription Drugs and Drug Abuse Advisory Committee--that recommended over-the-counter status to the FDA. The gum will not be available to persons under 18 years of age, however--and proof of age must be given.