European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 24, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the nicotine Patch reaches Europe by Steve scholar staff writer face  s just no easy Way to quit smoking. But now service members in Europe can get help in the daunting task by using nicotine patches a craze that has swept the states in the past year. The band Aid like Patch is placed on the Arm and releases nicotine into the blood Stream thus easing the nervousness and other Side effects that often accompany quilting smoking. Quot Many people Don t like injections and some can t take drugs orally. The Patch is a painless Way to get the chemical into the system. It releases the chemical in an almost constant flow into the blood Stream in a Way that most people Don t mind Quot said capt. Charlie  of the smoking cessation program at Raf upper Heyford. Frost warned that people using the Patch Are not free from discomfort but withdrawal symptoms Are greatly decreased. A Patch normally must be replaced after about 24 hours. They Are available in varying dosages based on the users weight and smoking habits. The smokers program at Raf upper Heyford that utilizes the Patch has 46 people enrolled in two classes that began in Early september. Frost stressed that the Patch is Only one part of the program. The eight week upper Heyford program begins with four weekly meetings that help participants understand social pressures that smokers face smoking addiction and smoking habits. Quot Many smokers think that nicotine is the Only harmful chemical in a cigarette in addition to nicotine there Are More than 3,000 other harmful chemicals including benzine and Carbon monoxide Quot to said. Quot some people think that replacing nicotine in one form with nicotine from another is senseless. But when you take away the other harmful chemicals found in a cigarette but not in the Patch it is much easier to quit completely. Its just part of the education process Quot Frost said after the education sessions participants Are issued the patches. They continue to moot weekly to review relaxation techniques weight management and other topics. After the formal portion of the program participants continue to gel additional patches dosage adjustments and to have any questions answered Quot the patches Are a prescription drug that is Given biweekly to the attendees for three months the last two weeks a smaller dosage is Given to begin to wean the user away from the Patch Quot Frost said. A similar program called fresh Start is offered at Ramstein a Germany said capt. George Roose a physician assistant and medical consultant to the smoking cessation program at the Ramstein clinic. Fresh Start has a briefer classroom schedule but otherwise is similar to the upper Heyford program Quot we want people to succeed so we help them As much As possible Quot Roose said. A the follow on program is very important. But we be also established a first step program As a prelude to actually joining fresh Start. It gives people an idea of what to expect. Quot they need to realize that motivation and attitude Are just As important As receiving the Patch. The Patch is not a save All it is just one More tool to help those that want to Stop smoking Quot Roose said. The obvious advantage of the nicotine Patch is that it can help end years of a self destructing behaviour. The disadvantage is that some people experience Quot vivid dreams palpitations tremors nausea and Chest pain which is the reason that a person has to see a medical provider before getting the Patch Quot Roose said. Quot people with certain medical conditions such As High blood pressure Aren t Able to use the  he added. Most of the unpleasant effects however occur when people continue smoking while using the Patch. Quot they literally overdose on nicotine Quot Roose said. Chief Petty officer Audrey Michaels an assistant Public affairs officer for naval forces Europe in London has been using the patches for two weeks without complaint. Quot it s been much easier than i thought. I be tried quitting Bolero but it s never been this easy Quot she said. Air Force staff sgt. Mark Calaway a communications controller at Ramstein a Germany has t had a cigarette since september 30. Quot i be tried different ways to quit but could t. The Patch helped me get rid of the Oral fixation of smoking. I would t have been Able to quit without the Patch Quot he said. Calaway is in the latter part of Ramstein s program and Hasni to used the Patch in two weeks. Availability of the smoking Patch varies across Europe. According to Aimy Anc air Force officials each clinic or Hospital commander decides which pharmaceuticals to carry locally. The two services Don t have Central tracking systems however All Navy facilities offer smoking cessation classes using either the Patch or gum the smoking cessation program which costs the government about $200 per person and includes the patches is available at no Cost to military people and their family a amps John Bohmer air Force staff sgt. Mark Calaway Ramstein a Germany has used the Patch to help him become a non smoker. Members. The program also is available to department of defense civilians but there is a Cost 7th medical command spokeswoman Barbara Slifer said that a civilian enrolled in an army smoking cessation program must pay $94 for the first visit with a physician. Subsequent visits refills and classes Are free if no physician is  the Cost is the same for Dod civilians using air Force and Navy facilities. Marie Shaw Public affairs spokeswoman at the Lan Stuhl Germany army regional medical Center said the Hospital program just beginning and patches will be issued on a first come first served basis until a full Supply is available although the program is open to civilians priority will be Given to act duty people. Yes the Patch does work five million americans Are trying the quit smoking Aid by Sandy Rovner the Washington Post the Quot Patch Quot has generated intense excitement because a except for the people mostly youngsters who still think that they can Stop smoking anytime a smokers want to Stop. According to the american cancer society of today a 55 million smokers 17 million try to Stop every year Patch manufacturers estimate that almost 5 million americans Are already on one of the four patches on the Market a Nicodem made by Marion Merrell Dow habit Rol made by Ciba Geigey pro step made by Lederle and Nicot Rol manufactured by Parke Davis. Patches Are not cheap for civilians in the states a about $125 a month for the three or four months it is estimated to take. See Story on Page 14 for military costs the Patch is a round or rectangular adhesive that is attached to a non hairy non oily area of the body a often the Back or on an Arm. Transdermal patches deliver heart seasickness pain and other medications. The nicotine Patch delivers a constant dose which is rapidly absorbed through the ski Over a 24-hour period. The 21-mg nicotine Patch has approximately the amount of nicotine found in a pack of cigarettes. Nicodem and habit Rol come in three sizes a 21 my 14 my and 7 my. The idea is to Start with the 21 my Patch for four to eight weeks and step Down to the 14mg for two to four weeks ending with two to four weeks on the 7-mg, from which you step into life without cigarettes or nicotine theoretically weaned from your addiction. Pro step has two sizes 22 my and 11 my. Nicot Rol comes in 15, 10 and 5 my. It is designed for daytime use Only mimicking the Way smokers actually absorb nicotine and is offered in tandem with smoke stoppers a behavioural program. Preliminary testing has demonstrated that Long term relapse rates Are lowered when use of the Patch is associated with some sort of behaviour modification program. The Public citizen health group a watchdog consumer organization has petitioned the food and drug administration to emphasize the need for behavioural Yoju Weot but even with a group Only Quot a a Aat 3u percent of sex smokers who a it Jed me Patch to quit can be expected o erf cigarettes for a year or More say this is a much higher Quot a a Quot a age than has been obtained Pise. Experts estimate v e 17 million americans who try a a d a smoking every year Only 1.3 succeed _ a Quot one a chemical that affects a a .1 brain systems is the nicotine patches come in variety of dosages and an prescription drugs. As the user is weaned from the nicotine addiction the dosage is reduced. People who smoke while using the Patch flak nicotine overdose. Substance in cigarettes that is addictive. It was called by the surgeon general s report in fact More addicting than any other drug a cocaine heroin opium marijuana a in the world. An appendix to the 1988 surgeon general s report on the health consequences of smoking that concentrated on nicotine addiction noted that nicotine certainly can be lethal a it is crucial for example to keep nicotine patches Way Way out of the stars and stripes tuesday Novet 24. 1992 the reach of children. Tobacco workers Are prone to a systemic nicotine poisoning from absorbing nicotine from the Dew on tobacco leaves. Known As Green tobacco sickness in produces nausea and vomiting pallor weakness dizziness headache. These same symptoms Are found in acute nicotine intoxication and they can be followed by confusion seizures coma and death. As few As two cigarettes ingested by a child can cause some of these serious symptoms within an hour. Deaths Are rare the report noted because of the Early vomiting ironically although it is a Poison with health threats of its own nicotine is not on balance As deadly As the tars the Carbon monoxide and other components of cigarette smoke but nicotine is the Hook by which All the other components of tobacco can do their insidious death dealing work to nose Mouth lungs throats Bronchi to infants in and out of the womb to the cardiovascular system the nervous system the digestive system even to household pets. When then surgeon general c Everett Koop one of tobaccos most committed and implacable enemies produced his report in 1988, the transdermal Patch As an Aid to smoking cessation was Only just being tested most people who stopped smoking did so on their own cold Turkey a a system that promised and delivered weeks sometimes months of misery irritability weight gain and repeated failures. Behaviour modification and group therapies helped seme  chewing gum helped ethers but Faure rates were High then Only a few months ago. The Patch arrived and m its first Blush a least seems to have reshaped the landscape. Still the Patch is net mag c and it not automatically turn a lifetime smoker into a healthier than thou Mountain climber. It has Side effects in some people a itching and Burn g around the Patch headaches nausea shakiness but these Are usually mid the Patch Market shuddered last summer when a Massachusetts Hospital reported that five heart Arra it it patients brought into the Hospital a t been using the Patch however an investigation showed that the were wearing the Patch and smoking As a. Self administering huge doses of nicotine according to testimony from the Hospital s cardiologist before an Fra advisory panel last month four of the free heart attack patients had be of smoking two packs of cigarettes a a it in addition to wearing a Patch patches do come with a warmer about smoking and Fra advisor panels Are keeping an Eye on any possible link Between the Patch and heart problems. However there was no evidence that this link existed m the cases so far brought to the after re r it the Fra panel. Michael c Fiore an internist and director of the Center for tobacco research and intervention at the University of Wisconsin medical Schmo told the Fra panel that smoking while on the Patch was certainty an inappropriate use of this product me said the occurrence of heart attacks among Patch users is not surpre re Given that cigarette Emo re is ire most important preventable cause heart attacks Quot also he estimated a tre  could prevent up to 1 2d0 car ctr vascular de a   or of course no sad me f d s a s  to  or an   effects Fri or. De past As r Dees with any   Wra s Clear is that  causes read attacks and  mat red dec a create of smoking a rest a drop r the number of card  Deam. The stars and stripes Pace t5