GlaxoSmithKline Places Smoking Cessation Centers in Doctor's Offices

The effort to help Americans curb their smoking habits has taken another step forward this year. Beginning in May, the newly published U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline on Tobacco Use and Dependence began appearing in doctors' offices across the country on a corrugated display called the Smoking Cessation Center.GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, marketers of Nicorette gum and the NicoDerm CQ patch, is at the forefront of this effort. "The purpose of this display is to provide materials that the physician and/or nurses can use with their patients to assist them in quitting smoking," says Bob Ott, associate brand manager, smoking control for the Pittsburgh-based company. "Most of the materials include general information that would be of assistance to the physician, nurse and/or patient to help quit smoking." Also included, he notes, are "Commit to Quit" kits that include information and proper use tips for the company's Nicorette and NicoDerm CQ products, along with a coupon for a $5 refund on a purchase.As the market leader for over-the-counter smoking cessation products, the company believes that the new guidelines included with the Center will help physicians identify and effectively treat smokers. In addition to providing these physicians with a tool to take an active role in treating their patients who smoke, the display also serves to recommend the products, says Ott.The display features the kit's "Commit to Quit" graphics on the front of the unit, which is the only product endorsement for GlaxoSmithKline. The Center can hold two kits.The units are constructed of a litho-label laminated to corrugated E-flute. A gloss coating gives them a shiny finish to create a high-end, professional appearance. Packaging Specialists Inc., Clinton, Pa., helped with the design and produced the 4,500 Centers, which measure 11 inches wide, 16 inches high and 7 inches deep.Ott says the Center is the most extensive effort from the company to date, and it plans on keeping the program in doctors' offices throughout this year and into 2002. Designed to be used either in patient exam rooms or in a lab area, the display can sit on a counter or be attached to a wall."The reaction in the field so far has been very favorable, not only for the Smoking Cessation Center and the look of it, but as far as its functionality and the way the materials can be placed within it," Ott says.The company plans to measure the effectiveness of the program based on the increases in physician recommendations for Nicorette and NicoDerm CQ products, as well as retail sales increases.

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