Effectiveness of Cold Turkey Quit Smoking

By

http://2stopsmokingtips.com

Introduction

Fresh facts indicate that cold turkey quitting is the most effective way to stop smoking. And this is coming straight from experts who conducted a landmark study first published online as a Review in the January 3, 2012 edition of the Annual Review of Public Health. This research makes mockery of the United States overall approach to quit smoking.

United States' Smoking Cessation Policy

The policy at the moment emphasizes the use of pharmaceutical cessation aids (such as Zyban, Chantix and NRTs) as well as quitlines through which telephone coaching can be conducted to help smokers quit. The two leading quitline coaching and counseling service providers are the American Cancer Society as well as Free & Clear. Due to the current policy, a lot of money has been expended on these two areas.

Research Disagrees With Policy

Existing medical procedures, as well as government recommendation for quit smoking, are based on the idea that all smokers should be treated with pharmaceutical aids.

But this recent research disagrees with the policy. Without mincing words, the study stated that despite the general use of quitlines, pharmaceutical drugs and NRT, smoking cessation rates have not improved. It goes ahead to say that quitting cold turkey is still the most effective way to stop smoking.

Research Advocates for a Policy Shift

In the report titled: Quitlines and Nicotine Replacement for Smoking Cessation: Do We Need to Change Policy?, the researchers stated that some policies actively discourage unassisted smoking cessation despite the documented high success rates of this approach. There is an urgent need to revisit public policy on smoking cessation.

Research Advocates for a Policy Shift(2)

The research, led by professor of family and preventive medicine, John P. Pierce, analyzed studies of nicotine and tobacco dependence carried out in the last 2 decades. Other members of the research team were Sharon E. Cummins, Martha M. White, Aimee Humphrey, and Karen Messer.

Research Advocates for a Policy Shift(3)

The study focused on the efficacy of the nicotine gum, the patch as well as pharmaceutical drugs, and concluded that they have not been successful for real-life quitting. Despite the fact that these drugs and aids are successful in clinical trials, the report says the results do not show an increase in the rate of successful quitters.

Do NRT's Work?

Right after this study appeared online, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Massachusetts; Boston came up with a report that stated matter-of-factly that nicotine replacement therapies dont work in helping people quit smoking.

This prompted our earlier article questioning the effectiveness or otherwise of nicotine replacement therapies.

American Cancer Society Gives Cold Turkey Quitting a PassMark

An American Cancer Society report in 2003 found that over 91.4% of long-term ex-smokers quit smoking unassisted (cold turkey). They did it entirely on their own and without spending a dime: they neither purchased nor used the patch, gum, inhaler, Zyban, Chantix, Lozenge, Laser therapy, hypnosis, you just name it!

According to the Cancer Facts and Figures, 2003, less than 6.8% of the individuals that took part in the study successfully stopped smoking using NRT.

American Cancer Society's Amazing Turn-around

It is therefore amazing that in the same report, the American Cancer Society approves the use of NRT even though the report reveals that NRT is not as effective as cold turkey cessation. Although patients often relapse and require repeated interventionsAll patients attempting to quit should be encouraged to use effective pharmacotherapy except in the presence of specific contraindications. (Cancer Facts and Figures, 2003)

Australian Study on Cold Turkey Quitting

Earlier, an Australian study, published in the May 2006 issue of Addictive Behaviors, inferred that cold turkey quitting has the highest success rate.

The survey analyzed smoking patients of 1,000 family practice physicians and discovered that winning cold turkey quitters accounted for 1,942 of 2,207 ex-smokers, a massive 88% of all success stories.

Australian Study on Cold Turkey Quitting(2)

During this study, numerous stop smoking methods were compared and all NRT therapies attained less than 10% effectiveness and had the highest rate of relapse. Herbal remedies and hypnosis even beat NRT pants down,by scoring higher than 10%.

Cold Turkey Quitting Doesn't Get to Be Celebrated

But this cheery news about cold turkey quitting doesnt get celebrated in the news as much as NRT. The almighty pharmaceutical industry would have us believe NRT doubles our chances of quitting. Millions of dollars are being spent daily to drum this into the minds of smokers and that is why you get to hear its hard to quit most of the time.

Quit Smoking IS Not Hard

At 2stopsmokingtips.com,we dont buy into that assertion at all. We have said it several times that quitting smoking is not hard if you reprogram your mind (by changing the way you think about cigarettes),prepare by reading up all you can about smoking cessation,choose a quit date,have a plan to counter nicotine withdrawal symptoms,especially for the first 72 hours after your last cigarette(when its most severe) and just drop off cigarettes. It sounds simple,but really,that is what it is.

Truth Will Prevail

For a long time, researches have made us believe going the NRT route is the most effective way to stop smoking but recent researches are countering that. We believe its just a matter of time;the truth will eventually prevail!

Putting Cold Turkey Quitting in Bad Light

January 2012, one of the campaigns meant to put cold turkey quitting in the bad light was launched by Pfizer Incorporated. It was tagged Dont Go Cold Turkey campaign and was meant to encourage smokers to seek help from healthcare professionals and get pharmaceutical aid(like NRT, Chantix or Zyban) before quitting smoking.

Putting Cold Turkey Quitting in Bad Light(2)

To send out its message loud and clear, Pfizer partnered with local NHS Stop Smoking Services to do a national road show and teamed with Actress and Loose Women presenter, Lisa Maxwell who went on the air-waves to talk about her own experience of quitting smoking.

Why Would Pfizer Do This?

It is understandable that Pfizer would do this. Its a company that is after huge profits and free cold turkey quitting cant offer them that, so, why should they promote it above NRT, Chantix or Zyban? Now,tell me,why should they promote a method of smoking that is quick, without charge, secure and efficient when they can promote pharmaceutical aids to haul in billions of dollars in profits? Why should they? Just why should they promote cold turkey quitting that makes no political campaign contributions? Just why should they?

Why Would Pfizer Do This(2)

The truth is: they just wont and that is why they are busy bombarding smokers with 2 major false assertions: the first one is that few smokers effectively quit unassisted, and the second is that their smoking aids functioned well, if not better than real cold turkey quitting. This is a bunch of lies as cold turkey quitting is the most effective and productive method of quitting.

Research Counters Pfizer's Claim

At least,the John P. Pierce-led research on the Quitlines and Nicotine Replacement for Smoking Cessation lends credence to that fact.

But, Pfizer, in its research,to launch the Dont Go Cold Turkey campaign claims cold turkey quitting accounts for just 3% of successful ex-smokers after 12 months.

More Researches Counters Pfizer's Claim

This Pfizer revelation came after researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Massachusetts Boston published a report to the effect that Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) are not effective in helping smokers quit in the long run, even when combined with stop smoking counseling.

Australian Professor Gives Cold Turkey Quitting another Passmark

In the same vein, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation report quotes Professor Simon Chapman, director of research at the School of Public Health at Sydney Medical School, as saying, Cold turkey is the way that people dont like talking about but its overwhelmingly the most popular and successful way that most people quit smoking. Its the way that most people who have quit stopped. If you take 100 ex-smokers and ask them how they quit, about 66 to 75 of them will have quit smoking without any assistance at all.

Cold Turkey IS the Way to Go

Chapmans assertions are supported by a Cancer Institute Australia survey presented October 2010 at the Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health. The survey confirmed that most Australians still stop smoking cold turkey (unassisted).

Cold Turkey IS it

According to Chapman, quitting cold turkey isnt for everyone though; there are some people who will need assistance. He insists on seeing the alternative going unassisted put forward as a viable option in public health messages about dropping off cigarettes. (A recent paper he co-authored on this topic was made available here). We need to re-balance the public discussion about how people quit smoking. We need to be honest with people and tell them that most people quit without assistance.

Another Plot to Disparage Cold Turkey Quitting

In a twist however, Dr. Michael Siegel, a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, blogs about another study that finds cold turkey quitting more effective than NRT,but concludes otherwise.

So,who is fooling who? I leave you to draw your inference. But,our mantra,at 2stopsmokingtips.com is: smoking cessation is possible with adequate information,preparation and determination. Its not as hard as they want you to believe!

Quit Smoking Is Not Hard

So, the next time you hear quitting smoking is the hardest thing I ever did, ask yourself whos saying it? Real people? Or actors in commercials for smoking cessation aids like the patch, nicotine gum, Chantix and Zyban?

The assertion that its extremely tough to drop off cigarettes is widely believed and youd be pardoned for thinking you cannot do it alone.

Try Quitting Cold Turkey Today!!!

But in reality, good old-fashioned willpower and determination could be your best and most effective option. So,try it out today!!! Youll be amazed at what you can achieve if you set your mind to it.

Thanks for Reading!!!

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