Fruit Nicorette available

The makers of Nicorette have introduced a sugarcoated, Fruit Chill version of their successful nicotine gum product in what the company says is an effort to break down the taste and mouth-feel barriers that keep many would-be quitters from making the gum part of smoking cessation efforts.

This raised the question of whether a nicotine gum could be so tasty as to function as a sort of reverse gateway drug. Not to worry, experts say. Gum doesn’t deliver the addictive nicotine anywhere near as effectively as cigarettes, and no amount of sugarcoating can make the bitter taste of nicotine attractive to most nonsmokers.

One hip surgery may lead to another

A survey of 1,001 people by Consumer Reports found:

• 5 percent of patients receiving knee or hip replacements required a second operation to correct problems caused by the first surgery

• 13 percent of hip-replacement patients ended up with legs of unequal length

• 25 percent of knee replacement patients still couldn’t walk half a mile one year after the surgery

• 82 percent of knee and hip patients were nonetheless “very” or “completely” satisfied with their new joint.

The survey results are published in Consumer Reports June magazine.