Effective ways to help quit smoking

WASHINGTON, May 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Public Health Service has identified new counseling and medication treatments that are effective for helping people to quit smoking.

Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update was developed by a 24-member, private-sector panel of national tobacco treatment experts that reviewed more than 8,700 research articles published from 1975 to 2007.

The review found that there are seven medications -- bupropion SR, nicotine gum, nicotine inhaler, nicotine lozenge, nicotine nasal spray, nicotine patch and varenicline -- approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as smoking cessation treatments that dramatically increase the success of quitting.

The guideline update also found evidence that counseling by itself or especially in conjunction with medication can greatly increase a person's success in quitting smoking. Quit-lines were found to be effective and can reach a large number of people.

"Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of illness and death in our society," Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, M.D., acting surgeon general said in a statement. "The good news is that we now have some of the best evidence-based treatments available for tobacco cessation."

The Journal of the American Medical Association includes a commentary that urges physicians to use the updated guideline to help reduce the use of tobacco.