Willpower alone may not be enough when it comes to smoking cessation

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new study suggests that people need help like nicotine replacement when they decide on smoking cessation.
Many people want to stop smoking because of the health risks. But smoking cessation is tough and may take more than one attempt. Help is available in the form of nicotine replacement therapy, drugs like bupropion, and counseling. Researchers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill now report on a review of the evidence, which shows that smoking cessation is more likely to be successful if people seek help.

They found that the use of nicotine replacement more than doubles the likelihood of the success of a smoking cessation attempt. Combining patches with other nicotine replacement products like gum or inhalers seemed to be the best way of boosting smoking cessation rates. The researchers found that those with psychiatric conditions and substance abuse problems had higher rates of smoking as well as more difficulty with smoking cessation. They believe that this group would also benefit from nicotine replacement and urge smokers everywhere not to go it alone.

Source
Annals of Internal Medicine September 2006