If you’ve ever looked into how to quit smoking for yourself or a friend, you know there are many options out there. Even with information on the web and advice from friends and family, it can be hard to know what will work best.
What Works to Quit: A Guide to Quit Smoking Methods can help you choose what’s right for you.
Nicotine Gum in Man's Hand and Nicotine Patch Pasted on Hand
What Works to Quit uses a straightforward star rating system to show the effectiveness of quit smoking treatments. On one easy-to-read card you can compare 17 options.
Using the guide you can check to see the effectiveness of counseling and support methods as well as medications and alternative methods, such as acupuncture and hypnosis. You can also look up the effectiveness of combination methods, such as counseling plus medication. All of the information is divided by success rates, cost and availability.
For example, below is a list from the guide of some of the most, and least, effective treatment options.
4 stars:
• In-person counseling and support plus medication
• Telephone counseling and support plus medication
3 stars:
• Varenicline Pills (Chantix)
• Combined Nicotine Replacement Therapies
2 stars:
• Nicotine Gum
• Nicotine Patch
• Nicotine Inhaler
• Nicotine Nasal Spray
• Nicotine Lozenge
1 star:
• Internet Quitting Programs
• Self-Help Quitting Guides and Other Materials
No stars:
• Acupuncture
• Hypnosis
• Laser Therapy
The What Works To Quit guide was developed by an objective panel of tobacco cessation experts and represents a consensus from the scientific community. The guidelines are based on published, evidence-based research.
The ratings presented in the guide are primarily founded on the findings and conclusions of Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: Clinical Practice Guideline (2008 update), sponsored by Public Health Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The number of stars assigned to each treatment method is based on odds ratios and estimated quit rates as determined through research studies. The number, range and consistency of research studies on each method were also taken into account.
The What Works To Quit guide is published by the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative (NTCC), a non-profit group funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Legacy Foundation and American Cancer Society.
