What kind of stop smoking therapies and programs are available?
Quite a few. We’d like to provide statistics about which programs work best, but these are hard to come by and questionable when available. Many programs make inflated claims about their results, and the criteria for “success” are often not defined. Many people quit on their own, with no outside therapies or interventions (we have seen claims that anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent of exsmokers quit on their own). If you have heart disease or other smoking related problems, your health care professional may be your greatest resource. He or she can refer you to programs and counselors in your area and may know you well enough to have a feeling about what might help most. Your health care professional will also know whether it is advisable for you to try nicotine replacement therapy, which is discussed in more detail later on. First consider whether you’d like to go into individual counseling with a therapist or would prefer to participate in a group. If you’d like individ...