Men are bigger quitters than women—when it comes to smoking, that is. But the reason remains hazy. A study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology shows that, of over 600 heavy smokers who received either a nicotine patch or a placebo, men were, across the board, more likely to quit smoking.
Why are women so hooked on lighting up? Based on past studies, lead researcher David Wetter predicted that it may be because men are more dependent on nicotine than women, which would explain why they fare better on nicotine replacement patches. But his male subjects had greater success in quitting than their female counterparts both with the medicated patch and the non-medicated placebo patch, suggesting that men's greater addiction to nicotine was not the answer.
