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Angie Cecil
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AN ADDITIONAL QUARTER OF A MILLION SMOKERS QUIT EACH YEAR DUE TO INCREASED ACCESS TO PROVEN THERAPIES

-- New Study Finds The Food And Drug Administration's Approval Of Over-The-Counter Nicotine Medications Has Resulted In A Positive Impact On America's Public Health --

Pittsburgh, March 17, 1998 -- The number of U.S. smokers who successfully quit every year has increased approximately 20 percent since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the over-the-counter (OTC) sale of nicotine medications to help smokers quit just two years ago. These results appear in the current issue of Tobacco Control.

"Our study estimates that an additional quarter of a million American smokers quit successfully every year as a result of making nicotine replacement therapies more accessible," commented lead author, Saul Shiffman, Ph.D., Director of the Smoking Research Group, University of Pittsburgh. "This impact is a very big public health benefit."

The recent study shows that the broader availability and promotion of effective treatments for smoking cessation -- specifically nicotine gum and the nicotine patch -- increases the number of smokers who use these medications. Estimates show that more than twice the number of smokers tried to quit the first year nicotine medications became available OTC compared to the last year (1995) that they were available only by prescription (6.3 million versus 2.5 million).

"This is a quantifiable positive development in our campaign for improving the public health of America, especially when it comes to reducing the number of smokers," comments Dr. Harmon Eyre, Chief Medical Officer, American Cancer Society. "Smokers are finding it easier to quit with the availability of these therapies, and that's good for everybody."

According to the study, not only have quit attempts with nicotine medications increased due to broader access to stop smoking medications, but the estimated number of smokers who remained smoke-free has also increased. OTC nicotine replacement therapies have enabled 114,000 to 304,000 more smokers to quit successfully every year, than if the products remained available only by prescription.

With the 1996 launches of both Nicorette(r) nicotine gum and NicoDerm(r) CQ(r) nicotine patch, SmithKline Beecham became the first company to offer OTC nicotine replacement therapy for smokers who want to quit. NicoDerm CQ and Nicorette work by providing a low, safe dose of nicotine to help relieve cravings while a smoker adjusts to life without cigarettes. NicoDerm CQ is the leading nicotine patch and the only brand that offers a choice of three strengths that can be worn for either 16 or 24 hours. Nicorette nicotine gum provides active craving control, allowing a user to manage his or her dosage of nicotine to fight cravings as they happen.

SmithKline Beecham (NYSE:SBH) -- one of the world's leading health care companies -- discovers, develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, health-related consumer products and health services including laboratory testing, disease management and pharmaceutical benefit management. For company information, visit SmithKline Beecham on the World Wide Web (http://www.sb.com).

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