In a recent report, AFSSAPS (the French Health Products Safety Agency) discussed to what extent the dose selected constitutes an important success factor. OBJECTIVES Assess the impact of quitting smoking in subjects receiving treatment by nicotine patches, combined in some cases (and others not, depending on the practitioners' approach) with nicotine pastilles to suck. METHODS Each of the subjects was included after they had expressed, during the spontaneous consultation, their desire to quit smoking. The cohort being pragmatic, no prescription advice was given, directly or indirectly, to the investigating doctors. The doctors were recruited by an independent service provider. RESULTS A total of 215 subjects were recruited by 67 general practitioners. Two analysis groups were organised, the first group being treated with a transdermal device or skin patch (n=93) and the second with a transdermal device combined with pastilles (n=122). After 6 months, the rate of abstinence in the “Patch + Pastille” group was 62.1% versus 39.7% in the “Patch only” group, the difference observed being significant (p= 0.008). CONCLUSIONS This cohort, carried out in real conditions, highlights - in subjects wishing to quit smoking – the relevance of adjusting the dose with the help of pastilles. Therefore, it would appear that, for subjects quitting smoking, combining pastilles with a transdermal nicotine substitute is indispensable. The role of the health professional initiating the quitting programme is therefore of prime importance.