page_title: Smoking cessation
section_title: Comparison of success rates
hierarchical_section_title: Smoking cessation / Comparison of success rates
caption_attribution_description: English: Image of the insula
context_page_description: Smoking cessation is the process of discontinuing tobacco smoking. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, which is addictive and can cause dependence. Nicotine withdrawal often makes the process of quitting difficult.
  In the US, about 70% of smokers would like to quit smoking, and 50% report having made an attempt to do so in the past year. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. Tobacco cessation significantly reduces the risk of dying from tobacco-related diseases such as coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. Due to its link to many chronic diseases, cigarette smoking has been restricted in many public areas.
  Many strategies can be used for smoking cessation, including abruptly quitting without assistance, cutting down then quitting, behavioral counseling, and medications such as bupropion, cytisine, nicotine replacement therapy, or varenicline. Most smokers who try to quit do so without assistance. However, only 3-6% of quit attempts without assistance are successful long-term.
context_section_description: Comparison of success rates across interventions can be difficult because of different definitions of "success" across studies. Robert West and Saul Shiffman, authorities in this field recognized by government health departments in a number of countries, have concluded that, used together, "behavioral support" and "medication" can quadruple the chances that a quit attempt will be successful.
  A 2008 systematic review in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention found that group behavioural therapy was the most effective intervention strategy for smoking cessation, followed by bupropion, intensive physician advice, nicotine replacement therapy, individual counselling, telephone counselling, nursing interventions, and tailored self-help interventions; the study did not discuss varenicline.
caption: Individuals who sustained damage to the insula were able to more easily abstain from smoking.[171]
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