Internet Stop-Smoking Programs EffectiveApril 28, 2003
Research Summary
Preliminary research from two smoking-cessation websites shows that the quit rate achieved through Internet-based stop-smoking programs may be just as high as traditional, face-to-face programs, the Wall Street Journal reported April 22.Although studies have shown that smokers nearly triple their quit rate if they seek professional help and use smoking-cessation aids, many people are unable to commit to regular appointments or don't have the estimated $3,000 to enter a formal stop-smoking program.
The Internet, on the other hand, solves the cost and flexibility problems, while offering 24/7 support for smokers trying to quit.
The biggest smoking cessation website is QuitNet.com. The site offers tips, tools, questionnaires, as well as a chat room where smokers can post messages and receive instant support from the hundreds of members who are online.
"Social support is the glue that holds the rest of the site together," said co-founder Nathan Cobb, an internal-medicine resident at Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston, Mass. "It's what keeps people coming back."
QuitNet.com is free, but offers more personalized support for $39.95 for three months, or $99 a year.
A survey of 438 users conducted three months after they joined QuitNet found that half of them had stopped smoking for at least a week, and the majority of those people had quit for two months or more.
At smokeclinic.com, smokers can participate in a structured program similar to a traditional smoking clinic. The $49.90 fee is waived for those who can't afford it.
"It's meant to be an intervention," said co-founder Daniel Seidman, who is also the director of the tobacco-cessation clinic at Columbia University. "We wanted to use the principles of a real clinic to accomplish some of the basic things you do when you're sitting down with someone."
A recent survey of 211 smokers who used Smokeclinic.com in the past year found that 42 percent had quit smoking. The results are comparable to the short-term quit rates of many traditional, in-person programs.
Editor's disclosure: QuitNet.com operates in association with Boston University and shares office facilities with Join Together.
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