(Mirror Daily, United States) – Smokers usually say that they want to quit, but they just don’t find it in them to do so abruptly. One last cigarette turns into one cigarette per day, then one cigarette per coffee and sooner, rather than later they find themselves smoking a pack a day, again. So cold turkey is the better way to quit smoking, and scientists agree.

Tobacco companies only tell you that “Smoking causes addiction”. That is true, but they should rather say “Quitting smoking will be the hardest thing you will ever do in your life”. Because it’s true. Nicotine is as much a drug as illegal substances and quitting is tough.

That is why researchers are always searching for new ways of improving this difficult transition that smokers must undergo. And there are a lot of options out there like nicotine gum, drops, patches and lozenges.

Dr. Nicola Lindson-Hawley, a postdoctoral researcher at Oxford University’s Nutfield Department of Health Sciences Primary Care, conducted a study in order to determine the best method of smoking cessation. According to her conclusions, cold turkey is the better way to quit smoking.

In order to reach these conclusions, Dr. Lindson-Hawley gathered a sample of 700 heavy smokers that were at it for a long time and wanted to quit the habit. She then divided them into two equal groups.

The first group was supposed to approach the situation directly, meaning that they went cold turkey. They established a date and from then on they didn’t touch a single cigarette.

The second group gave up smoking on a gradual level, meaning that they started to reduce the quantity of smoked cigarettes every day for two weeks before finally renouncing the habit.

Both groups beneficiated from adjuvants like nicotine patches, drops or gum, as well as medication. Furthermore, they were offered special medication like Chantix. All of this before starting the quitting program.

After a month had passed from the beginning of the experiment, the team discovered that 49 percent of the participants who decided to approach the cold turkey method were successful, as opposed to 39.2 percent of those who renounced the habit gradually.

After six months, the rate of success was considerably diminished. The cold turkey group was still measuring a 22 percent rate of triumph over the addiction, and the gradual group rated 15.5 percent.

Even though not even half of the participants managed to quit on the long-term, it seems like cold turkey is the better way to stop smoking. Also, people should never forget that there are special, free hotlines that can offer their assist to those who want to kick the habit.

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