What’s the Most Effective Way to Quit Smoking? Try, Try, and Try Again

Physicians Should Treat Smoking as a Chronic Condition

Study in Annals of Internal Medicine Reviews Two Smoking Cessation Programs, Finds High Intensity Long-Term Counseling the Most Effective

According to a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, physicians should treat smoking as a chronic disease if they want to help their patients quit successfully. Patients may require repeated or intensive interventions that include medication and counseling, as well as continued dialogue with their physicians.

Researchers studied 750 primary care patients who smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day to determine which interventions worked best to help them quit. Participants were randomly assigned to medication (nicotine patch or bupropion), or to groups that were assigned medication with either up to two calls from trained counselors, or with up to six counseling calls. During the two-year study, physicians offered an intervention every six months with medication, or medication plus intensive counseling. The more attempts smokers made, the more likely they were to quit.

Video from: American College of Physicians