For many years, it has been widely accepted that the most effective way to quit smoking is "cold-turkey"–meaning without the use of pharmaceuticals, nicotine replacement, or behavioral therapy. Not only is this the anecdotal experience of many former smokers, but research has also bolstered those claims by demonstrating the effectiveness of cold-turkey as a method of smoking cessation.
This is why a recent about-face by the UK Department of Health is puzzling, as the DoH now suggests that multiple interventions are as effective as quitting cold-turkey.
As Patrick Basham explains in the article linked below; "Despite the DoH and the pharmaceutical industry’s promotion of pharmaceutically-aided cessation, the evidence suggests that unassisted cessation, not behavioural and medicinal support, is the method used most often by those who quit smoking successfully. Perhaps, the only people who find this surprising or dismaying are those in the pharma-nicotine industry."
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