Research

Competitions and incentives for smoking cessation
Material or financial incentives are often provided to smokers as motivation for them to quit their habit. The Cochrane Review performed a review of the existing research on the effectiveness of such approaches in increasing long-term (at least six months) quit rates. Regardless of the nature of the incentive, quit rates for those with an incentive did not differ from the quit rates of a control group that did not have an incentive. Although incentives did not affect quit rates, there was evidence that incentives could increase recruitment numbers for smokers joining cessation programs. Therefore, enrollment incentives could be effective in raising participation rates, which would result in a larger absolute number of successful quitters. Click here to read the research article in the Cochrane Library.

Smoking-cessation aids beat cold turkey
A meta-analysis of 69 studies on the effectiveness of smoking cessation aids has shown that six types of cessation treatments are significantly more effective than a placebo. The six treatments found to be effective are Chantix, Zyban (also known as Wellbutrin), and the following types of nicotine replacement therapy: nasal spray, patch, tablet, and gum. These treatments were effective at both the 6-month and 12-month marks. When the two were compared directly, Chantix provided results superior to Zyban. The seventh cessation treatment under study, the nicotine inhaler, also showed positive, but not statistically significant, results. Click here to read more, or click here to read the research paper, which was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

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Reports

More smokers seek help with quitting since latest cigarette tax took effect (NY)
New York’s recent $1.25 cigarette tax increase has persuaded a surge of smokers to seek cessation help. The week the tax increase went into effect, calls to New York City’s 311 quitline tripled over the number of calls during that week of 2007. Likewise, calls to the state’s toll-free quitline quadrupled over the previous year. Many callers have cited the cost of cigarettes as their impetus for quitting, according to reports from administrators of New York’s quitlines and cessation counseling programs. Find out more here.

Smoking moms-to-be strive to go from pregnant pause to permanently smoke-free (OK)
This spring, the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline began to implement a special intensive program to provide extra support for pregnant women attempting to quit smoking permanently. Many women quit smoking during their pregnancy, only to return to their old habit after the baby is born. The Oklahoma quitline offers twice as many telephone counseling sessions to pregnant women compared to other smokers. The extra support is designed to help the women redefine themselves as nonsmokers, rather than just assisting them through a temporary pause in smoking. For more information, click here.

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