GENEVA, Switzerland, Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study published on Monday, reports that a personalized smoking cessation computer program can increase a smoker's chance of quitting, even amongst smokers least likely to quit. The program has the pot

The study, published in the November issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, aimed to assess the effectiveness of a computerised smoking cessation program, amongst a general population of daily smokers. The program, activated to produce a personalized response to a questionnaire, achieved a smoking abstinence rate 2.6 times higher in the intervention group than the control group. The program was even effective amongst smokers resistant to change -- heavy smokers, adolescents and smokers with a low motivation to quit. The study, published in the November issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, aimed to assess the effectiveness of a computerised smoking cessation program, amongst a general population of daily smokers. The program, activated to produce a personalized response to a questionnaire, achieved a smoking abstinence rate 2.6 times higher in the intervention group than the control group. The program was even effective amongst smokers resistant to change -- heavy smokers, adolescents and smokers with a low motivation to quit. Commenting on the study, lead investigator, Dr. Jean-Francois Etter, University of Geneva said, "Traditional smoking cessation programs often target a small number of motivated quitters leaving the majority of smokers without support." He continued "A computer program which increases a smokers chances of quitting and is accessible by a large proportion of the smoking population has the potential to have a substantial impact on public health, contributing to the prevention of smoking related diseases". The computer program is now available free of charge at http://www.stop-tabac.ch. In order to make it accessible to a wider audience of smokers the program is available in English, French, Italian and Danish. Commenting on the study, lead investigator, Dr. Jean-Francois Etter, University of Geneva said, "Traditional smoking cessation programs often target a small number of motivated quitters leaving the majority of smokers without support." He continued "A computer program which increases a smokers chances of quitting and is accessible by a large proportion of the smoking population has the potential to have a substantial impact on public health, contributing to the prevention of smoking related diseases". The computer program is now available free of charge at http://www.stop-tabac.ch. In order to make it accessible to a wider audience of smokers the program is available in English, French, Italian and Danish.

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