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Most smoking cessation guidelines advise patients to set a quit date and stop smoking abruptly, rather than gradually; however, data to support the superiority of abrupt quitting have been inconsistent. In this U.K. study, 697 adult smokers (mean cigarettes daily, 20) were randomized to set a quit date and stop smoking abruptly on that date, or to set a quit date and cut back gradually for 2 weeks before quitting. All participants received nicotine replacement therapy and behavioral support. Abstinence was confirmed by exhaled carbon monoxide measurement.
At 4 weeks, 49% of patients in the abrupt-cessation group were abstinent, compared with 39% of those in the gradual-cessation group; at 6 months, abstinence rates remained significantly hig…