No smoke ...

A study questioning the efficacy of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) gained the attention of the press. The prospective cohort study carried out by the Harvard School of Public Health looked at relapse rates for quitters, finding that "persons who have quit smoking relapsed at equivalent rates, whether or not they used NRT to help them in their quit attempts". According to the study's authors, NRT is wrongly perceived to help with quitting, rather than simply withdrawal symptoms. A meta-analysis of varenicline for smoking cessation considered 10 trials, finding the treatment effective over 52 weeks, although with the caveat that psychiatric adverse effects merited caution as regards people with pre-existing mental illnesses.