About a third of smokers will quit smoking this year for good—or so say smokers.
A new poll from Legacy, a national tobacco education foundation, finds 34 percent of smokers plan to quit smoking as a New Year's resolution in 2013. Among survey respondents, 18 percent reported that quitting smoking was a New Year's resolution in 2012.
Though concerns about the health risks associated with smoking was prevalent, as cited by 58 percent of smokers, even more smokers cited the increasing costs of cigarettes (67 percent) as the main factor motivating them to contemplate quitting.
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Despite resolutions made about quitting, researchers say that smokers don't necessarily fare better on their commitments at the beginning of the year.
"Most smokers who quit on Jan. 1 struggle to stay quit as the days and weeks go on," says Cheryl Healton, president and CEO of Legacy. "Many smokers may have begun their New Year's quit attempt and have already relapsed and that's okay. We need to encourage them to build a quit plan and then try to quit again. On average, research has shown that smokers make up to 6-9 attempts before they finally quit for good, which is why it is so important to remind smokers to quit with support and methods that have proven success."
One potential pitfall is smokers are still overlooking resources and practices that can lead to successful quitting. More than half (53 percent) of the smokers surveyed haven't talked about quitting smoking with their health care providers. Using over-the-counter and prescription medications—both nicotine replacement therapies and non-nicotine prescription medications—can improve a smoker's chance of quitting, Healton says.
Of those surveyed, only 39 percent used a non-prescription product like gums, lozenges or patches, during their last quit attempt. Even fewer (13 percent) used a prescription medication to help them quit during this most recent attempt.
Healton also says to successfully quit, having a plan and a support network including a health care provider and tools lined up in advance can help considerably.
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