Here is a very informational site:

http://www.uni.edu/wellrec/wellness/smoke/recovery.html

Deb

Read the document this is quoted from, they are actually promoting methods other than cold turkey. Their position is to promote awareness and more education on methods other than cold turkey because of greater success rate with other methods. The statistics were gathered to underline the fact that more education and awareness is needed to promote the recommended cessation methods because people were trying to cold turkey and needed to be better educated of the more successful methods that are available now.

They never said that cold turkey was more successful, just that it was being used more because of the lack of education to show the need for education. Please note that on the preceding page of this document are their recommendations for what works the best and the list does include NRTs as First Line Therapies.

In this other study you mentioned it is NOT about the efficacy of various quit methods and actually ends with the researchers stating, “By tailoring smoking cessation interventions to a smokers' preparedness to quit, scope exists to increase the pool of smokers offered strategies that are more effective in achieving abstinence and avoiding relapse rather than relying on less effective self-quitting behaviours such as cold turkey.” Again, the need for education is what they are talking about to help people find the other methods to keep from relapsing back into smoking.

Since you are the moderator for this forum I find it disturbing, to say the least, that you let your personal bias for cold turkey and against proven methods such as NRT get in the way of helping people. I know that your heart is in the right place but please do the follow up research as it will help you to moderate this forum with intelligence and accuracy. Like you, I care about the people on this forum and want them to be successful in quitting.

I’m familiar with WhyQuit, the website that you give links to all of time. They are biased toward cold turkey being the only way to quit. I learned to read the research and not just Joel’s comments on his website but many people do not and are misled as in the two studies that you misquoted from.

Here are links to the leading experts on quitting smoking in Canada, the US and the UK, please read what they say about quitting and the use of NRTs. I agree with the experts that there is no one right way and that all methods are valid to the person that it works for.

Canada:

Health Canada

Canadian Cancer Society

College of Family Physicians of Canada

Canadian Lung Association


US:

CDC: TheCenter for Disease Control


Smokefree.Gov

American Cancer Society

FDA: US Food and Drug Admin "Studies show that the nicotine replacement therapies as much as double the chances of quitting smoking."


UK:

British Heart Foundation
"NRT doubles chances of quitting"

UK Dept. of Health


British Lung Foundation


National Health Service, UK

Thanks Kandra, for that post. I found whyquit.com's hardline approach and condescending attitude disturbing and not helpful at all. I quit using the nicotine patch and my 6-month anniversary is in 4 days. I also know that I will never again pick up a smoke, so my chance of relapse is non-existent. I found the patch extremely helpful and recommend it to anyone who is a heavy smoker like I was (2-1/2 packs a day - smoked for 34 yrs). The studies on relapses, in my opinion, are deceiving because the relapse rate is very high for smokers no matter what method they use to quit. It is a very addictive substance, mentally and physically.

Again, I recommend quitnet.com (they encourage all manners of quitting - cold turkey, NRT, whatever it takes). Another good site is quitsmokingonline.com.

I'm sorry if you take my sharing of personal experience as bias. As I stated before, I know several people personally who have attempted to quit and none of them have been successful with NRT for more than a few months except those who have continued their addiction using the NRT. One was successful with hypnosis and another with laser therapy (both involve cold turkey as well, BTW) and I was finally successful with cold turkey. That's 3 who quit successfully without NRT that I know personally versus roughly 7 that were not successful with NRT that I know personally. These are my personal observations as a member and as a person who has been successfully quit for almost 18 months, not as a moderator. Based on personal experience, it is my personal opinion that NRT is less effective than other methods that do not encourage continued use of an addictive substance to break an addiction.
That said, I'm not saying that NRT doesn't work at all and everyone has to find their own way. I just find it ironic that the same industry who produced the drug we were/are all addicted to continues to profit by providing the raw materials for the same drug we are now encouraged to use to break our addiction. But, as you said, 'whatever it takes'.

Gotta agree with that! Do whatcha gotta do, but just put them bad boys down!

LisaN, perhaps you should read over this and other threads where you've posted were you are telling people that NRT is not helpful, doesn't work, a sham etc, etc. If you had said what I just quoted by you in those posts I would not have felt the need to post what I did.

Maybe you should go over the old posts just to see what you've written. I have no intention of offending, and I appreciate that volunteers such as yourself keep this forum going. As a matter of fact, thank you for doing it.

IT sounds like you do agree with what the experts say, do whatever works for you personally. Most of the people that I met when I took the American Lung Association Quit Smoking Class and people that I know and have met in passing have used some form of NRT. Another class was taught by a naturopath she also provided accupunture and other wholistic therapies, but none of those worked for me, however they did for others. So it just depends on each individual. I say keep trying the various methiods until you get one that fits with you and your lifestyle. If it didn't work the first time but your head is in a different place, then try it again. Never give up trying to quit.



I totally agree!! And you CAN do it. Don't think of a quit that lasted only a day as a defeat, think of it as a lesson and think of all the things that could have made it easier for you the next time. Some people can put them down and walk away. Some people, like myself, do that over and over and try multiple things over and over until it finally clicks and works.

Mangaw, I'm so happy for you. And congrats on the upcoming 6 month anniversary. If you add up all that you've saved by being a non-smoker you could spend that money on a kick-a$$ gift for yourself.

I know what you mean about KNOWING that you'll never pick up another smoke. I do too, now. And I feel so much stronger and freer, not to mention no more wheezing or asthma meds! I'm glad that we found what worked for us and will stick with it the rest of our life. Some people like or have a need for the bootcamp energy and I saw to each her own. If it works, then GO FOR IT.

Kandra, we share our experiences here and in my experience, those things are true. In your experience, NRT works fine. However, I think people deserve to hear that it is possible to quit without using NRT. I haven't heard or seen that put out as a reasonable option since NRT became OTC; then suddenly the 'official' position seemed to become that nobody should even think of trying to quit without them.
I tried the gum (twice) the patch (twice), the inhaler once and Welbutrin, which did nothing but make my ears ring. Personally, I couldn't hack gradual withdrawal and making a clean break was a lot less stressful for me than any of the other methods.

Patty,
I quit cold turkey after 20 years of smoking ( one thing I wish I never did in my life), and this is what I can suggest. First, tapper it off: you want to smoke after a meal, when you stressed, and in certain circumstances: bored, sitting in traffic, being on the phone, so called out of habbit.
So, try to wait, tell yourself, I will smoke after an hours, then wait another hour, etc. Stay away from coffee and alcohol, it makes it harder at the beginning. Distruct yourself: get a glass of water, browse the net, talk to someone. Also, make a deal not to smoke in your place and in your car, and only outside. This will assure that you will smoke less, you won't take a break every hour at work to go outside to smoke. The once you are down to 3-4 cigs a day, just stop it, cold turkey, it won't be a problem, I did it. I don't use any NRP, I think one can quit without it, just take some time. Now, it is been almost 10 years, and I can't stand when ppl smoke around me now.
HTH

Which is fine, however my ONLY problem that I have is that you are the forum moderator and as such I assume that you have a responsibllity to share ALL information when people come here for assistance not just your opinion.