Klemperer EM, et al. - In this two-arm, individually randomized open-label trial performed in the United States among adult daily smokers (n=68, 40% female) of ≥ 10 cigarettes/day who were not planning to stop smoking in the next 30 days, researchers compared two strategies for reducing nicotine dependence: slowly transitioning to very low nicotine content cigarettes plus nicotine patch or decreasing cigarettes per day plus nicotine patch. Using the Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale, changes were evaluated in nicotine dependence at baseline and weekly during the intervention. Findings revealed that nicotine dependence was reduced over a 4-week period to a larger extent by switching to very low nicotine content cigarettes vs reducing cigarettes per day, in addition to a nicotine patch.