Getting Not-Ready-To-Quit Smokers to Quit
JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) just published research on this quit smoking project. After years of decline in the number of smokers in the US, sadly there is a major upsurge among American youth. Currently 14% of adults use tobacco (cigarettes or E. cigarettes) while 24% of teens do. The prevailing thought among psychologists has been that until a smoker is ready to quit the likelihood of motivating them or helping them is nil. The JAMA article reflects research into a new approach called brief abstinence games. Basically, the researchers asked smokers to “take a break”. As a control group they used non-inhalation nicotine in the form of nicotine lozenges.
The researchers were pleasantly surprised that taking a break for a very brief time (a day or so) over a period of time led to 18% of the smokers quitting. This study was done in adults, not teens. So, the next project will be aimed at this younger population.