Quitting cigarettes abruptly may be more effective than gradually abandoning smoking habits, says a new study that analyzed cigarette consumption patterns of almost 700 people. Results were published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Just in the U.S., 68.8% of adults smokers want to quit.
The study was conducted in England, with the collaboration of nearly 700 participants who were extremely addicted to smoking and wanted to quit the habit. Researchers divided them into two groups. One group was requested to abruptly stop smoking while the other group was ordered to gradually reduce cigarette consumption for two weeks before they completely stopped smoking.
Nonetheless, participants from both groups received nicotine patches, gum, pills, and nicotine short-term therapies, before and after their quit day of smoking cigarettes. Furthermore, they received counseling therapy, as reported by CNN.
Results would appear to show that 49 percent of participants of the first group were not smoking after 30 days of their quit day. By contrast, 39.2 percent of people who had gradually reduced consumption, were not smoking after the same period of time.
It appears that after six months, the percentages of success decreased to 22% for the group that undergone cold turkey, and 15 percent for the gradual-quit group. That being said, results are still relevant, when comparing them to other methods for quitting smoking.
Researchers have said that health care providers should first recommend people to abruptly stop smoking. If it doesn’t work, gradual quitting can be also an efficient method, explained Nicola Lindson-Hawley, a postdoctoral researcher at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford in England.
“We understand that people might be dead set against quitting abruptly so if the only way they would consider quitting is gradually then the results of this trial suggest it shouldn’t be ruled out.” Mr. Lindson-Hawley said in an interview with CNN.
There are other factors that interfere when quitting smoking. It appears that results are better when people receive social support and nicotine replacement therapy, Lindson-Hawley said. Patches, gum, and Chantix, a nicotine-free pill that helps to quit the habit, are also good alternatives to keep in consideration, he added.
Psychology also plays an important role, people who had determined attitudes towards abruptly quitting smoking, before they participated in the study, were effectively more likely to kick the habit, according to Lindson-Hawley.
A relevant number of smokers in the United States want to stop smoking
According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, 7 out of every 10 adult cigarette smokers in the country said in 2010 that they wanted to quit completely. Two years later, the CDC reported that 42.7 percent of all adults smokers had stopped smoking for an undefined period of time because they were trying to quit.
The tobacco industry in the country is huge, it is calculated that it spends every hour more than $1 million on advertising and promotion. However, smoking costs the U.S. nearly $170 billion in direct medical care for adults, since 16.8 percent of all adults smoke (40 million people).
“We hypothesize that you get it all out of the way in one go [by quitting abruptly]. In the gradual group, because they were put through it in a gradual way, they lost the motivation,” Lindson-Hawley said, according to CNN.
Source: CNN
Yellow journalism, lack of transparency, on funding. Their long term success rate is low, using either methodology. Recidivism is high, as they do not address root cause. It is inadvisable to take the advice of non-smokers, on this matter.
Not sure what you are driving at, talking about yellow journalism? I just wanted here to note that the cold-turkey method is what I had done. And I did not return to smoking, as my motivator was fear, yes just plain fear of the consequences. I could imagine what it was like to lie in a hospital bed as an older person dying of something that was so easily preventable This was now over 40 years ago and never had the desire to start again, ever. My mother ultimately, who was unable to stop, did die of COPD, emphysema, even had a form of dementia and it was not a pretty sight. The worst was when there was once this moment when she was lucid and said: “Was habe ich mir nur angetan” (what did I do to myself). She lived to be 85, but the last years were horrible.
It is yellow journalism because cold turkey has a high recidivism rate, and is not a cure nor the right methodology, for achieving smoking cessation, as it does not resolve root cause . You are obviously one of the lucky one, and did not experience recidivism, unfortunately most light up again, after a short while. Been there, done that.
It is yellow journalism because cold turkey has a high recidivism rate, and is not a cure nor the right methodology, for achieving smoking cessation, as it does not resolve root cause . You are obviously one of the lucky one, and did not experience recidivism, unfortunately most light up again, after a short while. Been there, done that.
It is yellow journalism because cold turkey has a high recidivism rate, and is not a cure nor the right methodology, for achieving smoking cessation, as it does not resolve root cause . You are obviously one of the lucky one, and did not experience recidivism, unfortunately most light up again, after a short while. Been there, done that.
It is yellow journalism because cold turkey has a high recidivism rate, and is not a cure nor the right methodology, for achieving smoking cessation, as it does not resolve root cause . You are obviously one of the lucky one, and did not experience recidivism, unfortunately most light up again, after a short while. Been there, done that.
Smoked >3 packs a day until I was 30, now 70. Quitting abruptly is the way to go, something I did 12-14 times before it actually stuck. I needed to change many other normal habits too, that provoked my desire to smoke. Getting out of a “rut” is necessary to actually quit cigarettes.
Just do not bring money going to the stores. I quit abruptly, also, do not bring money every time going to walmart or stores. Nicotine free for more than 10 yrs now. Before I used to smoke 2-3 packs a day.
Just do not bring money going to the stores. I quit abruptly, also, do not bring money every time going to walmart or stores. Nicotine free for more than 10 yrs now. Before I used to smoke 2-3 packs a day.
Just do not bring money going to the stores. I quit abruptly, also, do not bring money every time going to walmart or stores. Nicotine free for more than 10 yrs now. Before I used to smoke 2-3 packs a day.
Just do not bring money going to the stores. I quit abruptly, also, do not bring money every time going to walmart or stores. Nicotine free for more than 10 yrs now. Before I used to smoke 2-3 packs a day.
Cold turkey (20 yrs) is the only way I could quit. You need psychological tactics. You fail because you FEEL you are being denied. Convince yourself otherwise. Sooner or later, you must say no to the nicotine.
I quit cigarettes when I was 30. It was four days of being not well or happy, then voila the spell was broke. Glad I quit them everyday….