Is Willpower Better than Nicotine Patches When Trying To Quit Smoking?

New research has shown that willpower maybe a better aid to stopping smoking than nicotine patches and gums.  A research team at Sydney University reviewed 511 studies on stopping smoking and they showed that most ex-smokers had given up smoking without the help of nicotine replacement therapies.

It seems that studies that commend the use of nicotine replacement therapies are more likely to have been funded by the drug companies than other studies.The Australian research team also stated that governments were also involved in the medicalising of quitting smoking and implying that giving up smoking is harder than it actually is. The review of the studies showed that between two-thirds to three-quarters of ex-smokers had given up without using stopping smoking aids and that they had found it easier than expected.

Other experts have disagreed with this research and say that the studies on nicotine patches and nicotine gum had been robust and that relying on willpower alone to quit smoking was not particularly successful.

Read all of this news article on willpower versus nicotine replacement therapies to help quitting smoking