Survey Reveals Smokers' Obstacles And Opportunities When It Comes To Kicking The Habit

Quitting smoking is hard. Quitting smoking on your own without the support of family, friends and co-workers is even harder.
According to a recent survey of more than 400 cigarette smokers, smokers feel significant pressure from family or friends to quit smoking (72 percent). Nearly half (49 percent) have felt judged for failing to quit smoking.
Unfortunately, the pressure to quit and fear of failure might impact a smoker's quit attempt. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive®, revealed that more than two in five smokers (44 percent) wouldn't want to share their desire/attempt to quit with others in case they failed, and a similar proportion (46 percent) has in fact secretly tried to quit without telling anyone.
Still, for the millions of smokers who want to quit, there are ways to increase chances of success.
"Nicotine replacement therapies, such as nicotine gums, are clinically proven to help smokers quit," says Matthew Carpenter, Ph.D., a smoking cessation expert and research psychologist at the Medical University of South Carolina. "For years, however, smokers have complained that the taste of the gum was a barrier to complying with the dosing regimen."
The Harris poll also showed that a better-tasting gum could be just the ticket to finally kicking the habit, by helping to address the compliance issue by making the chewing experience more enjoyable. To help improve compliance, Nicorette® stop smoking gum launched Fresh Mint in 2005 and recently introduced another great-tasting flavor, Fruit Chill. Similar in texture to confectionary gums, Nicorette Fruit Chill has a crispy coating that releases a burst of fruit flavor with a cool mint finish, providing a surprisingly refreshing chewing experience. The sugar-free gum also contains fast, flexible craving-fighting medicine that reduces nicotine withdrawal symptoms, including cravings that make attempts to quit smoking so difficult.
"There are two elements to smoking addiction--the craving for nicotine and the habit-and both must be addressed to increase the chances of successfully quitting," Dr. Carpenter explains. "Nicotine replacement therapy, like the gum, can help satisfy the body's physical need for nicotine, so smokers can focus on breaking their smoking habit."
While the only reason to quit that matters to smokers (and their family and friends) is the one that makes them actually stop smoking, the survey also showed that nearly one in two smokers would be persuaded to quit if their doctor told them their health was in danger (48 percent), and a majority also indicated that quitting would be easier if they had the support of others.
Fortunately, for the millions of smokers who are thinking of quitting and their loved ones, there is new hope and help. The Nicorette Fruit Chill Million, the largest quit-smoking challenge ever from the gum, strives to encourage 1 million smokers to make the commitment to quitting. It offers smokers and loved ones quit tools, resources and support to help make their quit attempts successful, and as an added incentive, offers participants the chance to win $1 million.