Smokers who underwent intensive, structured treatment were much more likely to quit the habit than those left on their own, a new study finds.

Researchers at Creighton University Cardiac Center in Omaha, NB, worked with 209 heart patients. They divided them into two groups. Both groups got thirty minutes of anti-smoking counseling and self-help materials. However, one group also underwent three months of behavior modification therapy and took free drugs tailored to their needs, such as nicotine smoking patches or ibuprofen.

Two years later, almost 40% of the group receiving structured treatment had quit smoking, compared to 9% of those who had no interventions.

This study appears in the February 2007 issue of CHEST, the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Labels: smoking, treatment