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Programs proven to help smokers quit smoking have three common components:

• Counseling on the harms associated with continuing to smoke, the benefits of quitting, and problem solving and skill building techniques to help the smoker attempting to quit,
• Self-help materials that reinforce the counseling messages, and
• Nicotine replacement products and antidepressants such as Zyban and Bupropion.

Examples of self-help materials to assist smokers as they try to quit smoking include self-help patient education materials developed by national voluntary health agencies that feature information and skill building exercises to support smokers as they cope with cravings, manage stress, change their daily habits, confront concerns about weight gain, work to avoid setbacks, and stick with their plans to quit smoking.

Counseling programs are available from health agencies, nonprofit organizations and commercial vendors. The costs of cessation programs depend on the chosen provider and can range from several dollars for manuals to several hundred dollars per person for clinic programs. In general, individual counseling is more effective than group counseling.

Other options and incentives include cessation counseling and/or classes paid for by the company, films on smoking and wellness topics shown on company time, reduced membership rates at health clubs, lunchtime fitness classes and a cash bonus for every smoker who quits smoking for one year.

For more information on smoking cessation programs, go to http://www.lungusa.org/tobacco/smkcessafac99.html

For information on creating demand for smoking cessation programs, follow this link.