According to the results of a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, a blood test may enable doctors to predict which smokers using the nicotine patch are likely to experience the least amount of cravings and have the highest probability of success in quitting cigarettes.

The blood test, a measure of the rate at which nicotine is metabolized, may eventually be performed non-invasively through saliva or urine samples.

"The ultimate aim here is to distinguish smokers who are likely to benefit from a standard dose of nicotine patch from those who may need a higher dose patch or an alternative therapy in order to succeed in quitting," said lead researcher for the study, Caryn Lerman, PhD, Associate Director for Cancer Control and Population Science at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, and Director of the University of Pennsylvania Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center.

Read more at the University of Pennsylvania.