Washington – If you plan to put “Quit Smoking” at the top of your list of New Year’s resolutions, join the club.
Each year, about 40 percent of smokers try to quit. Of those, only about 5 percent succeed on their first try. About half succeed after several attempts, according to the American Council on Science and Health, a consortium of doctors, scientists and policy advisers.
Smokers can pick up nicotine gum or a nicotine patch at the drugstore to help wean them from their cigarette addiction. Doctors also can prescribe nicotine nasal spray or a nicotine inhaler. And medication in the works could help reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
But experts say the most successful route to being cigarette-free also requires getting help and support from others.
Ann Fuller quit Feb. 14, 2005, after three decades as a smoker.
When her husband, daughter and a group of friends who quit with her all went back to smoking, she sought encouragement from an online chat room sponsored by the American Lung Association.
“Misery loves company, and when you’re at your weakest, someone online is at their strongest, and they can help you,” she said. The chat room has become one of the most popular features of the lung association’s online “Freedom From Smoking” program, which takes smokers step by step through how to quit and what to expect along the way. More than 150,000 people have registered.
“People are often reluctant to tell friends and family that they’re quitting, in case they fail. But they’ll talk to a stranger online who is going through the same thing,” said Bill Blatt, manager of tobacco control programs at the American Lung Association.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, accounting for about one of every five deaths – 438,000 people – each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, about 21 percent of all U.S. adults, or 44.5 million people, smoked cigarettes. Forty years ago, when stop-smoking efforts began in earnest, the percentage of smokers was twice as high.
Blatt says it often takes smokers more than one try to stop smoking and smokers should not be discouraged if they find themselves taking a puff.
“Don’t give up,” he said. “When you’ve put that cigarette out, try again right away.”
For Fuller of Houston, changing her routine was key.
“Instead of having coffee, I switched to tea. I began reading the news online. Sometimes it’s as simple as sitting in a different chair or moving to a different room.”
After a few months without a cigarette, Fuller found that she no longer needed to use her asthma inhaler. “I can breathe easier,” she said, “and everything tastes and smells so much better.”
