Intensive quit-smoking programs that include behavior changes and use of nicotine gum can add years to former smokers’ lifespans, researchers report.
LHS tracked about 5,900 middle-aged smokers who had mild to moderately abnormal lung function, but were otherwise healthy at the start of the study. Some of the patients participants enrolled in a 10-week intensive smoking cessation program, while others did not.
Along with help in changing behaviors linked to smoking, and the use of nicotine gum, the cessation program included a continuing five-year maintenance program designed to help prevent smoking relapse among the participants.
After five years, about 22 percent of the people in the quit-smoking program were sustained quitters, with nearly 90 percent of that subgroup continuing to stay away from cigarettes by the 11-year mark. In contrast, only about 5 percent of the people not enrolled in the program were sustained quitters after five years.
