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How Recent Quitting History Affects Future Cessation Outcomes

Most smokers have a history of unsuccessful quit attempts. This study used data from 7 waves (2002–2009) of the ITC 4-country cohort study. The likelihood of a future quit attempt increased independently with recency and number of prior attempts. But the likelihood of achieving sustained abstinence of at least 6 months was reduced for smokers with a failed quit attempt within the last year. There appears to be a subset of smokers who repeatedly attempt but fail to remain abstinent from tobacco. Alternatively, trying to quit too soon after a failed quit attempt may be underming self-confidence. Understanding why repeated attempts might be less successful in the long term is an important research priority.

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Adding behavioural support to medications increases quitting chances by 10-25%

Based on 38 studies which compare combinations of behavioural support and medications with groups receiving only medications, the Cochrane review concludes that adding 4 to 8 behavioural support sessions significantly but modestly increases smoking cessation.
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Combining behavioural support and medications increases chances of quitting smoking by 70-100%

Based on 40 studies which compare combinations of behavioural support and medications with groups receiving usual care or less behavioural support, the Cochrane review concludes that combined pharmacotherapy and behavioural support significantly increases smoking cessation.

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Stop smoking medications effective in populations according to ITC study

Results from a new ITC study indicate that cessation rates are higher among those using stop smoking medications compared to those attempting to quit without medication. These findings are consistent with the findings of clinical trials. Despite the advantage gained by using medications, however, many who make quit attempts do so without medications. Thus, in theory, population quit rates could be increased by promoting use of effective medications, even if among those using these medications, relapse to smoking remains the norm.

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