Smoking: cut down to quit, no better than cold turkey
26 June 2009
The ‘cut down to quit’ approach to smoking cessation is no more effective than quitting cold turkey, according to a study comparing the quit strategies (Arch Intern Med 2009; 169: 1028-34).
Swiss researchers compared smoking cessation rates in 314 smokers instructed to either cut down their smoking by half before quitting, or quit abruptly. The ‘cut down to quit’ group received nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) gum for 4 weeks before and 8 weeks after the target quit date, while the control group started NRT on the quit date.
One year after the quit date, both treatments showed similar efficacy. Associate Professor Matthew Peters of the department of thoracic medicine at Concord Repatriation General Hospital in Sydney said: ‘On this study alone, one could not recommend this novel approach unless it engaged a smoker in a quit attempt that they otherwise would not undertake.’
The authors said contrary evidence showing that pre-cessation nicotine patch treatment improved smoking cessation rates could be due to steady blood nicotine levels, which made cigarettes less rewarding.
Professor Ron Borland, cancer prevention fellow at the Cancer Council Victoria, said he was surprised that the ‘cut down to quit’ approach had not been more effective.
Disclosures: Dr Borland was previously a member of a smoking cessation consortium funded by pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), but has not received any funding from NRT manufacturers in the past 5 years. Professor Peters served on a GSK advisory board regarding the safety of NRT in 2006.
Last Reviewed: 26 June 2009
- 1. Etter JF, Huguelet P, Perneger TV, Cornuz J. Nicotine gum treatment before smoking cessation: a randomized trial. Arch Intern Med 2009; 169: 1028-34
