Almost 70 Percent of Smokers Want to Quit, But Few Do

A new government study finds almost 70 percent of American smokers want to quit, and more than half tried last year, but only 6 percent succeeded.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found most people who tried to quit smoking did not use medicine or counseling, which can double or triple success rates, according to a CDC news release. Most people who wanted to quit smoking did not receive smoking cessation advice from a doctor, the report noted.

Almost 76 percent of African-American smokers wanted to quit in 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal. While 59 percent tried, only 3 percent were successful, the lowest rate among races and ethnicities measured by the CDC.

Smokers who had a college degree had an 11 percent success rate, compared with just 3 percent with smokers with fewer than 12 years of education.

The report notes that making health care settings, public places and workplaces smoke free encourages smokers to quit. The CDC also urged the health care industry to provide comprehensive insurance coverage, with no deductibles or co-payments for smoking cessation services and treatments.