ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 14, 1996 TAG: 9612160039
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BETHESDA, MD.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Smokers who want to quit but crave nicotine and miss fidgeting with cigarettes may get another new source of help - a smokeless nicotine inhaler they can puff on anytime.
A federal advisory committee recommended approval of the Nicotrol inhaler Friday as a fourth alternative source of nicotine for people trying to give up smoking. The current options are nicotine patches, chewing gum or nasal spray. Also under consideration is a non-nicotine drug recommended for approval Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration's Drug Abuse Advisory Committee.
The inhaler, which looks something like a fat, plastic cigarette, is puffed on like a cigarette and gives the individual something to fidget with during the day. The big difference: you don't light it and there is no smoke.
People using patches and other devices ``often complain they miss their cigarettes the handling and puffing behavior. They say it's been a friend to them,'' said Dr. Karl Olov Fagerstrom of Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc., manufacturer of the device.
If it receives final FDA approval, the inhaler would be sold by prescription, with marketing to be handled by McNeil Consumer Products.
The company's Dr. Mikael Frazon said 44 percent of those using the inhaler in tests were able to stop smoking. Other researchers have estimated that 10 percent of people who try to stop smoking each year succeed.
The inhaler is a plastic device that separates in the middle so the user can insert a small plastic tube containing nicotine. The tube breaks open when the sections are closed and the user can then inhale through one end, receiving a small dose of nicotine.
Fagerstrom said it takes 70 to 80 puffs on the inhaler to get as much nicotine as 10 puffs on a cigarette. Each insert delivers a total of about 5 milligrams of the drug.
There is little potential for abuse, he said, since it takes so much effort to get the nicotine.
LENGTH: Short : 44 linesby CNB