A smoking-cessation program that combined a minimum of three months of counseling and free nicotine-replacement drugs was successful in keeping 39 percent of participants abstinent for two years, Reuters reported Feb. 13.

Researchers at Creighton University Cardiac Center in Omaha, Neb., found that the regimen was successful among highly motivated patients, including those who had suffered heart attacks, severe coronary heart disease, or angina.

"What we have shown is that a very planned and organized approach to cessation of smoking, with careful follow-up, works much better than the current practice of simply advising them to quit smoking," said lead author Syed Mohiuddin, who added that the treatment also reduced hospitalization and mortality rates among the participants.

The study subjects received behavioral modification counseling and the drug bupropion. Only 9 percent of patients receiving standard care successfully quit after two years.

Mohiuddin and colleagues are now determining the cost-effectiveness of the treatment regimen, noting that few insurers currently pay for such programs.

The results were published in the February 2007 issue of the journal Chest.