Most smokers want to quit and try to quit

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ATLANTA, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- About two-thirds of U.S. adult smokers say they want to quit and 52 percent of adult smokers say they tried to quit in the last year, health officials say.

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 48 percent of smokers who saw a health professional in the past year recalled getting advice to quit and 32 percent used counseling and/or medications in the past year. The use of these effective treatments can almost double to triple rates of successfully smoking cessation, the report said.

"More than two-thirds of smokers want to quit smoking and more than half tried to quit last year," Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the CDC said. "Smokers who try to quit can double or triple their chances by getting counseling, medicine, or both. Other measures of increasing the likelihood that smokers will quit as they want to include hard-hitting media campaigns, 100 percent smoke-free policies, and higher tobacco prices."

The analysis, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, was published in conjunction with the annual Great American Smokeout Nov. 17.

Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the Smokeout encourages smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day.

Smokers can get free resources and help quitting by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669) or visiting www.smokefree.gov.