![\"cigarette-bend-75x75.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/imagesvc.meredithcorp.io\/v3\/mm\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F12%2F2016%2F02%2Fcigarette-bend-75x75.jpg\")
cigarette-bend-75×75.jpg<\/span> More about smoking cessation<\/p>\n- \n
- Don't Go It Alone: Quitting Smoking in Support Groups<\/a><\/li>\n
- The Pros and Cons of Quitting Smoking Cold Turkey<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Twenty years ago, smokers who wanted moral support while quitting had relatively few options. They could try to find a support group or smoking-cessation clinic in their area, but that was about it. These resources still exist, but now smokers—and ex-smokers fearful of falling off the wagon—can also turn to websites, Facebook pages, and even Twitter accounts dedicated to helping people kick the habit. The Web enables quitters to access smoking-cessation tools anywhere, anytime, and provides a platform for sharing information, videos, and personal stories with other smokers.<\/p>\n
As social media sites like Facebook have exploded in popularity, the number of smokers seeking help online seems to be growing as well. One year after its launch in the spring of 2009, the New York City Facebook page—known as NYC Quits Smoking\/I Quit Because—now has more than 5,000 fans. Qwitter, a Twitter-based smoking-cessation aid run by the Florida Department of Health, has more than 400 followers.<\/p>\n
Social media may counter the strong social element that often keeps people from kicking the habit. Smokers tend to gather—and bond—in designated smoking areas, and potential quitters can be bombarded daily with the question "Want to grab a smoke?" It can be difficult to step out of that social network, and thats where a smoke-free online network may help.<\/p>\n
Other online resources, ranging from the National Cancer Institutes Smokefree.gov to for-profit sites such as QuitNet and Habitchanger.com, offer a comprehensive suite of services to help you quit. These sites typically have several features that users can navigate through: step-by-step guides to quitting, expert advice, tools to help people identify their smoking triggers or tally up how much money theyre wasting on cigarettes, and forums or chat rooms in which people can share information and tips.<\/p>\n
Next Page: What role do online programs play?<\/a> [ pagebreak ]What role do online programs play?<\/b>
Web-based smoking-cessation programs "are about as good as just about anything else out there," says Cameron D. Norman, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Torontos Dalla Lana School of Public Health, who has studied the use of social media and electronic communication in health-care information. However, he adds that web programs are "not designed for necessarily everybody. Oftentimes people will use multiple methods to help them quit."<\/p>\nMany experts agree that online tools are a useful adjunct for people trying to quit smoking, but theres no silver bullet. Randolph says that in-person counseling, in addition to Facebook, is helping him kick his habit.<\/p>\n
One big benefit of the best sites, Norman says, is that they collect many different resources—chat groups, phone hot lines, tips for quitters, and so on—in one place.<\/p>\n
The fact that social media and quit sites are now available just about everywhere through smart phones is also a big plus, he adds.<\/p>\n
Scott Allan, 46, of Upton, Mass., is gradually cutting down his cigarette intake with a little online help; right now hes down to a quarter of the number of cigarettes he used to smoke every day, and has 17 more days to go until hes smoke-free. "I like the Facebook page Quit Smoking, but it is not as proactive as Habit Changer," says Allan, who works in hospitality and sales. Habit Changer sends him an email and a text message each day with encouragement and advice.<\/p>\n
"I believe that social media is helping me to find other ‘quitters and keeping my task of quitting on my mind more," he says.<\/p>\n
There hasnt been a great deal of research on the effectiveness of social media for smoking cessation, and some experts are skeptical that online support groups, chat rooms, or Facebook pages—what experts call the peer model—really help people quit.<\/p>\n
- The Pros and Cons of Quitting Smoking Cold Turkey<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n