Most smokers have tried to quit[1] at least once, according to a new survey.


Gallup researchers found that only 12 percent of smokers have never tried to quit the habit. Meanwhile, 40 percent have tired to quit once or twice in their lives, 41 percent have tried to quit three to 10 times, and 4 percent have tried to more than 10 times.


The survey results suggest that "smokers on average are engaging in a habit they wish they didn't have, and, in fact, the average smoker has attempted to quit at least three times in their lifetime," the researchers wrote in their report on the findings[2] .


The survey, which included phone interviews with 2,027 adults in the U.S. conducted in July of this year, also revealed that three out of four smokers would like to quit.


The survey identified the most common strategies smokers use[3] to try to quit smoking. Nearly half -- 48 percent -- said that they quit cold turkey, deciding that "it was time" to stop smoking. Eight percent said that they used willpower and commitment to quit, while 6 percent said they relied on family and friend support and/or prayer.


Five percent reported using a nicotine patch to quit, and another 5 percent said that they were spurred by smoking-related health issues. Four percent said that they stopped hanging around other smokers, 3 percent said they used chewing gum, candy and lozenges to quit, and 3 percent said they used electronic cigarettes. The least common methods included cutting down smoking until eventually quitting, using prescription medications, using nicotine gum and using hypnosis.


As for why smokers wanted to quit, the most common reason was health. Other reasons included cost and loss of desire to smoke.



Recently, a study from Australia showed that putting plain wrapping with giant health warnings[4] on the packages of cigarettes seems to help make them less appealing. That study examined smoker attitudes toward cigarettes after a law went into effect in Australia requiring plain packaging for all tobacco products.



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  • Mindfulness


    Mindfulness training helped participants in a <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21723049" target="_hplink">2011 <em>Drug and Alcohol Dependence</em> study</a> to stay off cigarettes.

    That study included 88 people who smoked 20 cigarettes daily, on average, who were split up into two groups: One received four weeks of mindfulness training, while the other group went through four weeks of an <a href="http://www.ffsonline.org/" target="_hplink">American Lung Association stop-smoking program</a>.

    The researchers found that more of those who went through the mindfulness training smoked fewer cigarettes -- and stayed off them -- than those who went through the other stop-smoking program.

    The mindfulness training included <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/minding-the-body/201204/can-mindfulness-help-you-quit-smoking" target="_hplink">realizing when you're facing a craving</a>, accepting it, thinking about what's happening and then taking note of the sensation (whether it's tightness or pressure), <em>Psychology Today</em> reported.




  • Weight Lifting


    Jogging and bicycling aren't the only exercises that could help you kick the smoking habit -- <em>Shape</em> magazine reported that <a href="http://www.shape.com/latest-news-trends/study-says-weight-lifting-can-help-smokers-quit-and-lose-weight" target="_hplink">weightlifting could help</a>, too.

    The research, published in the journal <em>Nicotine & Tobacco Research</em>, showed that doing two hour-long weightlifting sessions for 12 weeks <em>plus</em> undergoing treatment to quit smoking was linked with greater success in quitting smoking, compared with just undergoing the stop-smoking treatment.




  • Eat Produce


    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/10/fruits-vegetables-quit-smoking-smokers-tobacco_n_1581465.html" target="_hplink">Eating lots of fruits and veggies</a> could help smokers maintain a tobacco-free lifestyle, according to research from the University of Buffalo.

    The study, published in the journal <em>Nicotine and Tobacco Research</em>, included 1,000 smokers ages 25 and older. The researchers had the participants answer surveys about their smoking habits and their fruit and vegetable intake. Then, they followed up with them 14 months later and asked them if they used tobacco over the past month.

    The researchers found that there was a relationship between the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/10/fruits-vegetables-quit-smoking-smokers-tobacco_n_1581465.html" target="_hplink">amount of fruits and vegetables</a> the study participants ate, and the likelihood that they quit -- and stayed off -- tobacco. In fact, people who ate the most produce in the study were three times more likely to report that they'd been tobacco free in the previous month.

    The researchers also found a link between increased produce consumption and taking longer in the day to have the first cigarette, smoking fewer cigarettes, and decreased dependence on nicotine (based on test results).




  • Acupuncture And Hypnosis


    A review of studies suggests there is evidence that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/07/acupuncture-quit-smoking-hypnosis_n_1497348.html" target="_hplink">acupuncture and hypnosis</a> can work to help quit smoking, Reuters reported.

    Researchers, who published their findings in the <em>American Journal of Medicine</em>, said that other options -- like medications and counseling -- should be tried first, but that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/11/hypnosis-quit-smoking_n_1248444.html" target="_hplink">hypnosis</a> and acupuncture could help if those options don't work, or if people don't want to go on medications, according to Reuters.




  • Text Messages


    Who knew your phone could be used to help you quit smoking?

    A recent study published in the <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)60701-0/abstract" target="_hplink">journal <em>The Lancet</em></a> showed that smokers who enrolled in a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/05/smoking-text-message_n_888188.html" target="_hplink">program called "txt2stop"</a> -- where they received encouraging text messages to quit smoking -- were twice as likely to kick the habit after six months, compared with smokers who didn't get any encouraging messages.

    In the study, conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, one group was able to text words like "lapse" and "crave" to a phone number, and <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20075843-247/want-to-quit-smoking-try-text-message-support/" target="_hplink">received an encouraging text</a> message in return, CNET reported. The other group of people, however, only got one text message every two weeks, and that message just thanked them for being part of the study.




  • Quitting Smoking And Health


    Eletta Hansen explains some facts about smoking, and discusses if your body gets healthier after you quit smoking