After reviewing the literature on smoking cessation programs and other issues related to smoking, scientists from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota say that because evidence-based assistance to help individuals battle nicotine dependence is at an all-time high, there has been no better time than the present to try to stop smoking.

In an article in the October 9, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association the authors claim that if the smoking interventions that have been proven to be effective were broadly implemented, a larger proportion of the 46 million U.S. adult smokers would try to quit. They add that among those who would attempt to quit, the likelihood of success would be substantial.

Among the factors that clinicians can use to promote treatment of nicotine dependence, the investigators cite:

• Assurance to their patients that stopping smoking can lead to marked improvement in current and future health, even among older smokers;
• Evidence that low tar or low nicotine cigarettes do not significantly reduce health risks;
• The availability of at least 5 medications for smoking cessation that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration; and
• Evidence that adolescents who smoke can experience nicotine dependence with relatively low levels of tobacco use.

The authors recommend that the 2000 U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, should be used as a "roadmap" for intervention at the clinical level.

WHAT IT MEANS: Numerous strategies now exist producing reliable and substantial increases in smoking cessation. Their availability underscore the responsibility of every physician to counsel every tobacco user about the risks of smoking, the benefits of quitting, and how to quit.

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Contact: Michelle Person
mmuth@nida.nih.gov
301-443-6245
NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse
4-Nov-2002

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