Lucy Gum, a nonmedicinal nicotine product, helped prevent nicotine cravings among participants in a behavioral study published in Harm Reduction Journal.
Based on the results, respondents who smoked and were planning to quit, as well as those not intending to quit, were most interested in trying Lucy Gum, which is manufactured by oral nicotine product manufacturer Lucy Goods. Quitting or cutting down consumption of cigarettes, vapes and other tobacco products were the most common motivation for trying Lucy Gum. Many reported that it was helpful in preventing nicotine cravings, managing stress or maintaining focus. Notably, females who smoked showed interest in Lucy Gum in contrast to low female interest in traditional smokeless tobacco products.
Lucy Gum did not appear to attract those who never used tobacco products and has low potential to promote relapse in nicotine use for former tobacco users. Results for young adults suggest minimal appeal to youth, and there was no evidence that flavors of Lucy Gum appealed more to young adults than to older adults.
Current smoking cessation methods show limited effectiveness, with just a 0.3 percent reduction in population-level smoking prevalence projected for a 2.3 percent quitting rate.
“The fact that Lucy appeals to people who smoke, regardless of their intent to quit smoking, highlights the potential of Lucy to reach more adult tobacco users than medicinal NRT [nicotine-replacement therapy] products and to facilitate their transition to less harmful alternatives,” said David Renteln, CEO of Lucy Goods, in a statement.