Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2003 Dec;18(12):1053-7.
doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2003.20640.x.

Motivating and helping smokers to stop smoking

John R Hughes  1
Affiliations
Review

Motivating and helping smokers to stop smoking

John R Hughes. J Gen Intern Med. 2003 Dec.

Abstract

Smokers try to quit only once every 2 to 3 years and most do not use proven treatments. Repeated, brief, diplomatic advice increases quit rates. Such advice should include a clear request to quit, reinforcing personal risks of smoking and their reversibility, offering solutions to barriers to quitting, and offering treatment. All smokers should be encouraged to use both medications and counseling. Scientifically proven, first-line medications are nicotine gum, inhaler, lozenge, and patch plus the nonnicotine medication bupropion. Proven second-line medications are clonidine, nicotine nasal spray, and nortriptyline. These medications are equally effective and safe and the incidence of dependence is very small. The proven psychosocial therapies are behavioral and supportive therapies. These are as effective as medications and are effective via individual counseling, group, and telephone formats. The writing of this article was supported in part by Senior Scientist Award DA-00450 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Two scenarios of the natural history of brief advice and subsequent cessation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette smoking among adults—United States, 1998. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2000;49:881–4. - PubMed
    1. Cohen S, Lichtenstein E, Prochaska JO, et al. Debunking myths about self-quitting. Am Psychol. 1989;44:1355–65. - PubMed
    1. Hughes JR. The evidence for hardeningIs the target hardening? NCI Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute; 2001.
    1. Hughes JR, Gulliver SB, Fenwick JW, et al. Smoking cessation among self-quitters. Health Psychol. 1992;11:331–4. - PubMed
    1. Hughes JR. Four beliefs that may impede progress in the treatment of smoking. Tob Control. 1999;8:323–6. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types