Personalized computer program increases smokers chances for successfully quitting by more than ...( Committed Quitters® program ...)

Personalized computer program increases smokers chances for successfully quitting by more than 50 percent

Committed Quitters® program increases chance of success by over 50 percent

Pittsburgh, PA (June 12, 2000) -- Smokers who use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to quit smoking will significantly enhance their chances of success by using a self-help program tailored to their individual needs rather than standard materials, according to a study in the June 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. The Committed Quitters program (CQP) uses patented computer software to develop customized behavioral materials that help smokers meet the challenge of staying smoke-free.

"When a person decides to quit smoking using nicotine replacement therapy, in this case Nicorette® nicotine gum, having personalized self-help materials, like the Committed Quitters program, significantly improves their success, compared to relying on 'one-size-fits-all' materials. These tailored materials make a difference in a person's ability to quit smoking," says study author Saul Shiffman, Ph.D. Shiffman directs the Smoking Research Group at the University of Pittsburgh.

Smokers enrolled in the Committed Quitters program showed a 56 percent increase in quitting smoking at 12 weeks versus those who used only nicotine gum and standard materials, according to the study. Moreover, more than one-third, 36.2 percent, of the enrollees were abstinent after six weeks with the help of the program and Nicorette compared with only one-quarter, 24.7 percent, who quit without the CQP.

Specifically, abstinence rates at six and 12 weeks among the 3,627 smokers using nicotine gum in the study were significantly higher for those who received the personalized CQP materials (36.2 percent and 27.6 percent, respectively) compared to those just using the standard audio tape and users guide prepackaged with the gum (24.7 percent and 17.7 percent, respectively). While the smoking abstinence rates dropped from six to 12 weeks, the people using CQP still had significantly h
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Contact: Susan Brooks
susanbrooks@porternovelli.com
212-601-8300
Porter Novelli
10-Jun-2000

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