Information, Not Scare Tactics, Helps Smokers Quit: Study

A new study finds that smokers who called a tobacco quitline were twice as likely to experience short-term success in quitting if they heard positive messages rather than negative ones, MedPage Today reported Jan. 8.

Researcher Benjamin A. Toll, Pd.D., of the Yale University School of Medicine and colleagues found that the positive messages were more effective in the short run, although the effects were not sustained, with abstinence rates evening out among the two groups after three months. “Multiple messages may be necessary for longer-term impact,” the study noted.

The findings were published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.