Tobacco Use Cessation Methods

Question of the Month
February 2001

As we all know, nicotine is a powerfully addictive substance – even more so than heroin. While the best way to control tobacco addiction is to prevent people from using tobacco in the first place, hundreds of millions of people around the world are already addicted. There is a need for cheap and effective ways of helping people to quit.

Many of you expressed interest in tobacco use cessation in on your sign up forms. Here's your opportunity share experiences and anecdotes from around the world.

Question: What factors have you found to be most effective helping people to quit smoking or chewing tobacco? Share your observations, ideas, and stories!

We're defining tobacco use cessation very broadly here, so you don't have to be a professional to answer the question. An account of what worked well in a friend's case is fine. Culture-specific observations are encouraged. Please keep in mind that the majority of people around the world cannot afford expensive nicotine replacement therapies, which often have low success rates to begin with. Wanted: cheap, creative, effective, easily replicable ideas!

Please share your answer with your partner and forward us a copy. To get you going, we've some ideas that groups have already shared with us.

SUMMARY OF RESPONSES

Some bright ideas from around the world:

IRAN: Turning tobacco's economic costs into gains
Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center and its local town council help smokers wanting to quit to save the money they would normally spend on cigarettes in a savings accounts. Participants are then eligible for interest free loans. According to Shahnaz Shahrokhi, M.D., Head of the Center's Tobacco Control Unit, monthly savings rates generally vary between $6 and $56. About 100 smokers have accounts of over $600. As Dr. Shahrokhi notes, "This sum is remarkable considering the limited incomes in Iran." Monthly a sum is loaned to one person through a drawing. The program attracts other smokers to join quitters and to start up their own saving accounts. Group sport activities, contests, and trips are also a part of the program.

USA: Quitting "cold turkey"
Don Zeigler of Rotary International(Evanston, IL) recommends the website http://www.whyquit.com , which is based on a smoking cessation program with one of the highest success rates in the country. The program emphasizes nicotine addiction and quitting "cold turkey." The website debunks the excuses smokers commonly use to justify their habit and provides shocking personal stories and photos of people who died young from tobacco. It also offers an experienced-led chat group and downloadable supporting materials. Don notes that this method "works better and is more affordable for developing countries."

CANADA: Pushing for smoke-free policies
As Jack Boomer of the Clean Air Coalition mentioned in a recent letter, "The tobacco industry notes in their own documents that quit rates increase from 5% to 21% when smokers work in non-smoking environments."