Does Text Messaging Really Help Stop Smoking?
There’s been some buzz recently about a new study suggesting that text messaging helps young smokers quit. The study found that nearly twice as many smokers ended up quitting when they were sent regular text message reminders or encouragement, compared to a control group. Of course, people shouldn’t get so excited that text messaging is really a way to stop smoking. It was still only 28% of those in the program who actually quit — and the study had problems following up with many users six months later to see if they had continued to avoid smoking. Also, while the focus here is on text messaging, I’m reminded of someone I knew who quit smoking by going to a hypnotist. Rather than being “hypnotized,” he was told to tie a string around his finger, and every time he wanted to smoke, to look at that finger as a reminder that he was quitting. That process worked as well — and really suggests that just doing something different to remind you of the habit you’re trying to break will help. T
