Number Of Quit Smoking Attempts Key To Success

Number Of Quit Smoking Attempts Key To Success, Conference Told

International delegates attending the Oceania Tobacco Control conference in Auckland were today asked to shift their focus from the 'quality' of smokers' quit attempts to the 'quantity' of those attempts.

Professor Shu-Hong Zhu, from the University of California, told the conference the success rate of quit attempts is generally very low. Fewer than 10 percent of smokers who make an attempt in a given year succeed.

"A natural response to this problem is to encourage smokers to use cessation aids or behavioural counselling," said Professor Zhu. "These things do increase the odds that smokers will successfully quit, but I would argue that increasing the frequency of quit attempts is even more important."

Applying a simple mathematical model to various population data, Professor Zhu demonstrated that increasing the frequency of quit attempts in the general population leads to a quicker drop in smoking prevalence than increasing the use of cessation aids.

Professor Zhu noted that in California, smokers on average tried 12 to 14 times before quitting for good; 12 if they used cessation aids, and 14 if they did not. These figures have stayed fairly constant since data collection began in the early 1990s, even though the availability of cessation aids has increased.

"What this means is that quitting aids reduce the overall number of attempts that are needed. But smokers still have to make multiple attempts, with or without these aids.

"Ideally, all quit attempts would involve a cessation aid, counselling, or some other form of assistance," said Professor Zhu. "But it's not realistic to think that every quit attempt will be aided. The real key to speeding up the process is to encourage them to keep trying."

In fact, an over-emphasis on cessation aids can give smokers the mistaken impression that such aids are necessary to succeed. Smokers may not even try to quit unless they have cessation aids. This runs the risk of decreasing the number of quit attempts.

Professor Zhu, who directs California's statewide Quitline, said that among smokers who call the Quitline, the most common excuse given for not trying to quit is, 'I haven't got my patches yet'.

"The California Quitline has served more than 430,000 callers since its inception in 1992. "In our experience it's best not to make people think quitting aids are essential for success. They're really just a tool to make quitting a little easier."

Professor Zhu's recommendations included establishing strong policies restricting smoking around non-smokers, running aggressive and varied media campaigns, getting all health care providers at every visit to advise quitting, and substantially raising cigarette taxes. Citing examples from California and elsewhere, he showed that the number of quit attempts in the population increases significantly as a result of such measures.

"What is interesting about prompting more smokers to try to quit is that it creates a perception for the remainder that everybody is doing it. It helps to establish a norm of quitting, which can further increase the likelihood that smokers will try. Changing the impression that smokers have about what other smokers are doing can be a very effective tool in encouraging more attempts.

"An approach that has not been tried is telling smokers that it is normal to make multiple attempts, that this is the route taken by those who have already succeeded. With every quit attempt they make, they are a step closer to success; the next attempt may well be the one that will last forever."

ENDS

© Scoop Media