It is estimated that nine out of ten smokers would like to give up their habit if there were an easy way, and that more than 30 million Americans have tried to do so at least once. Until now, they've had little help from the medical profession, even though more U.S. doctors have stopped smoking than has any other group, and their organizations have condemned the practice.

Doctors could have a powerful influence on their patients who smoke if they took the trouble to give brief advice and help on a routine basis, says Dr. Michael A. H. Russell, head of the addiction research unit of London's Maudsley Hospital, and a leading authority on nicotine addiction. In an experiment, Russell showed that when doctors took just a minute or two to talk to their patients about their smoking habit and gave them a leaflet to read, the doctors could persuade 4.1 percent to give up cigarettes. Those patients who were also given nicorette did more than twice as well.

If this experience holds true here, doctors might help nearly 5 million American smokers kick their habit each year. Since, according to the Royal College of Physicians, "between 2.5 and 4 out of every 10 are smoking," this might save the lives of as many as 2 million American smokers.

Of course, not all patients are candidates for nicotine gum. It is not recommended for some heart patients, some peptic-ulcer sufferers or women who are or may become pregnant. A doctor should decide whether to give it to a nursing mother, since nicotine will enter her milk. It has not been evaluated in children or adolescents who smoke.

The FDA advises patients not to use Nicorette for more than three months. Actually, a number of experiments show that the gum is most effective if used for 16 weeks. People who stop smoking with the gum and then stop the gum too soon are more likely to relapse.