The Best Way to Kick Your Smoking Habit

If you’re really committed to quitting smoking for good, it’s time to get tech-savvy.

A new study published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report shows that people who use both phone hotlines and online cessation services to help them quit are much more likely to say they’ve abstained from smoking compared to people who opt for just one or the other.

In general, smoking quitlines are proven to be successful interventions for smokers who want to kick the habit. They offer guidance, support and resources to keep quitters on track. Most quitlines also offer a web version of their services, but until now, it hasn’t been clear that more information really is better.

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The new study suggests that it is. Researchers looked at 7,901 people who reported using either phone-only interventions, internet interventions only, or a combination of both. People who used both methods were significantly more likely to report they hadn’t smoked in 3o days when researchers followed up with them. The researchers speculate that dual usage may improve a quitter’s likelihood of succeeding, possibly because they’re strongly committed to their goal.

“Although telephone and Web-based interventions are effective in tobacco cessation, providing access to multiple types of cessation services might improve the odds of users in achieving long-term cessation,” the researchers write. The hope is that physicians will counsel patients on considering both interventions.

Our ever-connected climate may make this easier, and many public health initiatives are seeing success in sending educational text reminders. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is paying particular attention to how social media and cell phones can best be used to help break addiction. In October, the NIH pledged $11 million to studying the use of social media to help understand, prevent and treat substance use and addiction.

So if you’re ready to accept the challenge of going cigarette-free in 2015, set yourself up for success and log in.