Daily HealthBeat Tip

All together, give it up.

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Giving up smoking isn't as easy as just stubbing out that last cigarette. That's why there are cessation programs � to give would-be ex-smokers extra help.

The question is whether the extra help really helps, compared with people who quit on their own. And researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health have checked into that. The researchers looked at almost 5,900 smokers. Some got no extra help, while others got intensive assistance, including training in how to deal with the temptation to smoke.

It turns out that the people who got the help got the better payoff. As a group, they were about 15 percent more likely to be alive about 15 years after they tried to quit. The director of the NIH's airway biology and disease program, Dr. Gail Weinmann:

"This study shows the dramatic impact of smoking cessation programs on the overall health of the public."

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August 22, 2005

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