Research

Giving up smoking 'raises diabetes risk'
New research suggests that quitting smoking is related to a 70% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the first six years of cessation compared to non-smokers. The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, followed over 10,000 middle aged adults for up to 17 years and found that the risk of developing diabetes in smokers who quit was highest within three years of quitting. Those who had quit for ten years or more had no excess risk. The authors stress that the results do not imply that smokers should not quit; rather they should seek advice on preventing weight gain and obtaining diabetes monitoring after quitting. Click here to read an article summarizing the study or here for the abstract.

Quitline messages that stress benefits of quitting may improve smoking cessation
Research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute indicates that smokers receiving messages that emphasize the benefits of quitting (gain-framed messages) have slightly higher cessation rates than those who receive standard messages on both the benefits of quitting and the consequences of smoking. Cessation counselors at the New York State Smokers’ Quitline were assigned to two groups, one of which delivered the standard messages, and another which delivered the gain-framed messages. Smokers that received the gain-framed messaging reported more quit attempts and higher rate of abstinence from smoking after two two-weeks (23.3% for gain-framed messages versus 12.6% for standard messages), although there was no difference between the groups after three months. Also, training fidelity for the gain-framed messages was found to be high, making it a potentially feasible and effective method. Read more about the study here, or view the abstract. Click here to read a media memo by the authors.

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Reports

NTCC develops tool kit to help build demand for cessation
The National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative teamed up with product design firm IDEO to create the Designing for Innovation toolkit. The toolkit frames tobacco cessation as a consumer experience that can be designed at every step along the way. The kit details a step-by-step process for producing innovative cessation strategies, including instructions for conducting a needs assessment and guidance on adapting products and services to the consumer. Read more about the toolkit development here, or click here to download the Designing for Innovation toolkit.

DoD boosts quit tobacco efforts for 2010
With the start of the new year, the US Department of Defense (DoD) is renewing its “Quit Tobacco - Make Everyone Proud” campaign to support the efforts of military personnel to quit smoking. The campaign will operate mainly through a website that will have themed content for every month in 2010, providing information and interactive tools to help smokers quit. The site allows military personnel to customize their smoking cessation support through private or shared blogs, live chats, a text message service, and a personalized quit plan, calendar, and calculator. Click here to read more, or visit the military smoking cessation website.

Rise of the part-time smoker: The new smoker, who lights up only intermittently, needs new strategies to learn to quit
This Wall Street Journal article describes the increase in non-daily smoking and the challenges associated with quitting for these types of smokers. Tips are provided to combat several common reasons for smoking or triggers to smoking such as social smoking, stress smoking, and emotional smoking. Read more here.

Pennsylvania offers free nicotine patches (PA)
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has started providing free nicotine patches in combination with support from the PA Free Quitline to help residents quit using tobacco products. The promotion was advertised alongside Determined to Quit Week (Jan 24-30), a statewide, week-long event aimed at raising awareness about available resources to quit smoking. During last year’s Determined to Quit Week, over 2,200 free NRT kits were distributed to quitline callers. Click here to read more. Click here to visit the Determined to Quit website, which offers information and cessation resources to smokers and their friends and family.

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International

Smokers offered free 'quit kit' by NHS to kick the habit in new year (UK)
Smokers in the United Kingdom are being offered a free kit by the National Health Service (NHS) to aid their New Year’s resolutions regarding smoking cessation. The NHS Stop Smoking Quit Kit can be ordered online or over the phone and includes items intended to reduce cravings and promote cessation such as a stress toy, a wheel that calculates the money saved by quitting, MP3 downloads of breathing and movement exercises, a toothbrush, and a chart to track progress. Critics argue that the money spent on the kits would have been better used on more targeted approach to reducing smoking, but the Department of Health says the tools in the kit will help increase smokers’ willpower and help them defeat cravings, helping them successfully quit smoking. Read more here.

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