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1992-09-22
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LIVING, Page 82Kicking the Habit
Nicotine patches are hot, but they're hard to find
By JON D. HULL/HICAGO
Here's a pop quiz sure to make libertarians quiver. Which
of the following items cannot be acquired without special
permission: a carton of Lucky Strike nonfilters, a liter of
grain alcohol, handcuffs, a hypodermic needle or (hint, hint)
a nicotine patch?
Yup. The kids can discreetly get their condoms at school,
but Mom and Dad must slink off to the doctor's office and pay
for permission to attempt to quit smoking with nicotine
patches. And that's not all. Even with a prescription, smokers
in many states have an easier time purchasing a semiautomatic
AK-47 assault rifle -- totally legal, no waiting period -- than
certain nicotine patches. The catch? Unlike guns, not only are
patches highly regulated, but get this, the two leading brands
are being tightly rationed in many areas. For nicotine devotees,
walking a mere mile for a Camel seems simple in comparison.
The problem is exquisitely inconceivable. After spending
millions of dollars coaxing hundreds of thousands of smokers
into making one of the most difficult decisions of their life,
the three U.S. patch distributors failed to produce enough to
go around. Recent quitters, a high-strung group in the best of
times, suddenly found themselves in an unnerving game of musical
patches. "It's like a suicide hot line with a busy signal," says
Jan Westmier, a former self-described chimney from Berkeley who
finally got a supply of patches last month. Seattle carpenter
Robert Gould just gave up. "I was on a waiting list for two
weeks before my pharmacy could supply me with the patches," he
says. "Hell, by then I'd lost my nerve to quit."
The fuss is remarkable for a product that wasn't even
available seven months ago. Nicoderm, the first patch to be
approved by the FDA, arrived on the market just in time to cash
in on several million New Year's resolutions. Backed by a
massive ad campaign, marketer Marion Merrell Dow Inc. quickly
created a huge demand, which soon outstripped supply. That was
good news for rival Ciba-Geigy Corp., which now claims more than
half the market, in contrast to about 30% for Nicoderm. But
Ciba-Geigy, which has already sold more than 70 million Habitrol
patches, has been forced to curb promotion and ration its
product, allowing newcomer Pro Step, introduced by American
Cyanamid Co., to grab a 13% market share.
Even with overtime production, the patch shortage is
expected to last at least until early August. "We're only
getting about 50% of what we could sell," says Carolyn Fray,
spokeswoman for Rite Aid Corp., which owns 2,498 drugstores
nationwide. Merrill Lynch analyst Richard Vietor estimates that
sales will top $880 million this year and nearly $1 billion in
1993. (Six months ago, he predicted sales of only $150 million
for all of 1992.) "This is overwhelmingly the biggest first-year
market for any prescription product," he says.
Priced at under $4 each, the patch delivers a steady fix
of nicotine, the addictive part of tobacco, without the
4,000-plus other nasty components that make up tar. Long-term
studies are lacking, but initial data suggest that the patches
can double the success rate for quitters in the short run when
coupled with behavioral therapy.
Now that researchers have developed a relatively benign
way to stay hooked on nicotine, will patches become the next
big addiction? So far, most researchers see little chance of
wide-scale patch abuse, despite reports of patients sneaking
extra patches or pressuring physicians to extend treatment
beyond the recommended six to 12 weeks. But really, who cares?
Nicotine alone is not a killer in modest doses. It mixes just
fine with driving, and best of all, co-workers and spouses need
not fret about secondary smoke. Until the battle against bad
habits is finally won, nicotine patches might just be the most
promising candidate for the last socially acceptable -- or at
least tolerated -- vice in America.