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Show Smokers should use "cold turkey" method to kick habit, study shows of completing their smoke-stop course and 78 percent were back on cigarettes in a month. "Pressure, tension, emotion those were the reasons most often given for the resumption of smoking," Mr. Johnson notes. "Many people need cigarettes in order to cope with anxieties." : Teaching people to relax might be another part of the solution, he says, adding: "Smokers must be encouraged and shown ways to scrap their 'paper-tobacco relaxants' for another means of winding down." Smokers who quit "cold turkey" have a better chance of kicking the cigarette habit than those who taper off gradually, according to a University of Utah study. Their chances are further enhanced if they stay away from coffee while making the break and if their families reinforce and not belittle efforts to quit. These principal findings emerged from extensive telephone interviews with 139 Salt Lake residents who participated par-ticipated in smoke-stop programs during the past five , years. ' y: . 1 College of Health graduate student Ray Johnson, who conducted the study for his doctorial dissertation, said only 30 of the men and women interviewed in-terviewed have not returned to smoking. V' Among those who haven't 'There was no waivering on this point," Mr. Johnson says. "AH 30 of them expressed a fear of death from smoking." He said 75 percent of those who returned to smoking felt the same way. The U of U graduate student further noted that none of the successful 30 reported receiving any strong negative reaction from family members or close friends during their struggle to stop. On the other hand, 85 percent of the failures did. ; "In some instances, a man attempting to quit tylls 'off the wagon' so to speak and has a cigarette. He immediately runs into harassment and sarcasm from family and friends. It's an unproductive, negative feedback," feed-back," Mr. Johnson said. The survey notes that 53 percent of those interviewed resumed smoking within a week restarted, 24 of them (80 percent), per-cent), stopped abruptly or "cold turkey," while the other six quit gradually. ' Mr. Johnson interviewed 61 men and 78 women, ranging in age from 15 to 72. Some had smoked as many as five packs a day before attempting the "cure." A faculty member at Central Michigan University, Mr. Johnson hopes to convert his findings into an effective program to help persons quit smoking. According to the survey, a person is less likely to succeed if the consumption of coffee continues con-tinues during the critical weeks of transition, Mr. Johnson suggests a switch to tea or another beverage for at least a . month. Among the failures (those who had resumed smoking), 88 percent continued to drink coffee daily after attempting the break, compared with 74 percent of those who succeeded. "We found a natural association between drinking coffee and smoking," Mr. Johnson explained. It was the unanimous feeling of the 30 who succeeded in quitting that they would die an early death of they continued to smoke. |