There is a statistic bantered around the smoking cessation community that states people who quit smoking will try on average 7 attempts before they are successful and finally quit for good. I'm not sure if there is any data to back up this claim, but it does "sound" about right. We all know people who have tried to quit time and time again without success. Often times these people fail to change their behavior that is commonly associated with their smoking habits. They are conditioned to smoke and like Pavlov's dogs, just can't stop salivating when the cigarette dinner-bell is rang. And, if what I read on the stop smoking forums is true, then I'd say many people fall off the stop smoking wagon in the first week after their target quit date. Does this mean you are going to be a lifetime smoker? Does this mean it will take 6 more attempts before you become successful?
Well, a new study might just change our thinking about recidivism or relapse. In the journal Addiction, Gonzales and others evaluated immediate quitting with varenicline (Chantix), bupropion SR (Zyban) and placebo versus delayed quitting. There results were somewhat surprising. They found that two types of successful quitters emerged, those who quit immediately and those whose success came in a delayed manner. The immediate quitters, whom they termed IQ, were continually abstinent for weeks 2-12. The delayed quitters, DQ, smoked during 1 or more weeks for weeks 2-8. They obviously gave in to temptation and had a puff or two during the clinical trial. However, they were still motivated to quit and remained in the program.
The Chantix group had the highest quit rate for both IQ and DQ, 24% and 20% respectively. Zyban's success was 18% and 11.6%, while the placebo came in at 10% and 7.5%. This evaluation tells us a couple of things.
Chantix success remains relatively high compared to Zyban and Zyban success is greater than that of placebo. Nothing about this is earth-shattering. But it also tells us that if the smoker remains motivated to quit and has a program to follow, they have a very good chance to quit, even if they fall off the wagon early on. In fact, their success rate isn't much lower than their IQ counterparts, relatively speaking. One-third of the proportion of successful quitters who were abstinent between weeks 9-52, were delayed quitters.
So what is the key element then? Well, one thing is obvious. Smokers who enroll in a formal program are likely more serious about quitting and therefore, more motivated to quit, despite early relapse. Secondly, stop smoking aids with a support system are much more effective in helping people become smoke-free than those who go it alone without some kind of aid. I've never understood why people would direct people away from getting help to stop smoking. Nicotine is so addictive, that would be like asking a heroin addict to quit cold turkey, on their own. It just doesn't make sense to me. I understand there are side-effects to all medications, but these can usually be managed within some sort of a support system. Everybody is different and everyone's addiction is different. Some can go cold turkey, while others probably need something a little but substantive.
This just goes back to the point that it is hard to quit smoking by yourself. You have to build in some kind of accountability or network of support to lift you up when you relapse. Too many people think they can quit as easy as they started or they don't think they can quit at all, so their attempts are simply doomed to fail before they even begin.
If you find yourself in this category, then you need to think about the stop smoking benefits that are available to you when you quit. You might also want to start evaluating the health consequences that are suffered by people who smoke.
If you are ready to quit smoking then go to a trusted resource for information and stop smoking help. Learn about all the stop smoking aids, take a nicotine addiction quiz to find out which method might be best suited for you. Arm yourself with unbiased information and understand what to expect when you quit smoking. The only thing that makes quitting easy, is your attitude. Stay firm in your decision and resolve to quit smoking everyday.
Get the valuable information you need to help you stop smoking at stopsmokinghelper.org.
Tim Frymyer is a licensed respiratory therapist who is dedicated to keeping the public up-to-date on the latest stop smoking information.
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