NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) -- On average, it took smokers more than four attempts over 15 years to kick the habit, according to a Gallup survey released at a press briefing here on Tuesday.
Even though a majority of smokers believe their habit will kill them eventually, only 10% of smokers actually quit smoking over the past 5 years, the 1998 survey revealed.
But the number of smokers interested in quitting has increased dramatically over the last 5 years, the pollsters found. One third of the smokers surveyed said that they are very interested in quitting, up 20% from a 1993 survey.
The survey included 862 current smokers interviewed by telephone between July 14 and August 12, 1998. An additional 287 ex-smokers were interviewed during the period. Of the successful quitters polled, 59% quit "cold turkey," while 11% used nicotine replacement therapy. Five percent gradually cut down the number of cigarettes smoked.
There are drugs that can double a smoker's chance for success, said Dr. David Kessler, dean of Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, and former US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner.
"Now is the best time to quit smoking. Getting help can mean the difference between success or failure in trying to break this very powerful addiction," said Kessler at the conference, which was sponsored by SmithKline Beecham, the company that sells a nicotine patch and gum.
Kessler said that smoking "light," or low-tar cigarettes are not safer alternatives to smoking regular cigarettes. "There is no healthy cigarette," said Kessler.
And quitting is a process, he added. The more you try, the more likely you will succeed, he said.
Smoking withdrawal symptoms, such as loss of concentration and irritability, can be treated with behavioral strategies and medicine, according to Dr. Jack E. Henningfield, an associate professor of behavioral biology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
"Smokers don't have to tough it out alone," said Henningfield. "There are eight different FDA-approved medicines to help people stop smoking -- a nicotine gum, four different nicotine patch brands, a nicotine nasal spray, an oral vapor inhaler, and bupropion -- a twice daily pill taken 2 weeks before a smoker quits."
"The medicines for smoking cessation are not only safe and effective, they also are generally far safer and more tolerable than the drugs used to treat emphysema, lung cancer and heart disease, which may result if the person doesn't use the smoking cessation medicines," he said.
"If someone can quit by age 35, they will return to the 'never-smoker's' risk of preventable illness and premature death," noted Dr. John Seffrin, of the American Cancer Society
A good day to quit smoking, said Kessler, is November 19, 1998, the annual Great American Smokeout. The Gallup poll showed that one in four smokers who have tried to quit timed their attempt to a special event, with 34% quitting for the annual Smokeout day, 52% for New Year's, and 20% for their birthday.
