An empirical study of the use of Chewing Gum by Youth as a replacement to Cigarette addiction

Abstract

The current study aimed to add to this of knowledge by examining the effect of chewing gum on smoking withdrawal severity over a long period, as well as identifying the specific characteristics of chewing gum that may be responsible for the reported reductions in withdrawal. Chewing, flavour, and the combination of the two were all investigated separately. The study is based on quantitative research. The data has been classified on basis of smoker and non-smoker. Participants reported a significant difference in withdrawal severity across conditions using repeated measures Chi square, F(3, 69)=2.89, p.05. The flavoured gum condition had considerably lower withdrawal scores than the flavourless gum base and no product control conditions, according to follow-up analyses. These data suggest that chewing gum is effective in reducing the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms over a 24-hour period of nicotine abstinence, and that the impact is due to a combination of flavour and chewing. These findings, together with findings from previous laboratory studies, show that chewing gum could be a useful coping mechanism for those who are trying to quit smoking.