There are also gadgets designed to help you gradually reduce your dependence on cigarettes and eventually quit. Despite their hype, however, they are just variations on the same theme.

For example, one’popular new product is a palm-size computer called Life Sign. The computer records your smoking habits, develops a personalized program to quit, and guides you through it. This is how it works: For seven days you record each cigarette that you smoke by pushing a button on the computer. The computer remembers when you smoke and develops a personalized profile of your smoking habit. It then constructs a withdrawal Program for you .that lasts from two to five weeks, depending P n how many cigarettes you usually smoke. The computer displays the number of days until yo’ur quit date and tells you when you can smoke your next cigarette. The idea is to disrupt our ordinary smoking pattern and have you smoke at random tmes. This strategy is supposed to separate the act of smoking from the cues that cause the urge to smoke. Gradually, the time between cigrettes is lengthened. The goal is to assist you in achieving total abstinence from cigarettes. The computer even makes allowances for slips. For example, if you slip with an unscheduled cigarette (and push a button on the computer), it will adjust your program.

This product is not cheap. It runs about eighty dollars for the computer, an instruction manual, and, in some cases, an instructional video. There is a discount program if the product is ordered in quantity.

Is there evidence to support this program? The company claims that the product has been studied scientifically, but there are no articles substantiating this in any major medical journal. There are, however, a few brief reports about the product, but it is not clear how it compares to other quit-smoking techniques.

So, despite the claims of the manufacturer that the product is “successful, cost-effective, and easy to use,” there is no proof that it is anything more than easy to use. However, the idea is attractive and may appeal to some smokers. It has been reported that more than 600,000 of these units have been sold since it was introduced in 1991.

Our major concern is the cost of this unproven method. It may be worth a try, but when you cut through the hype, you’ll realize that this technique has not yet been embraced by the scientific community. Even if it helps you to quit, it is not certain that it aids you in steering clear of cigarettes later.

As we mentioned, gradually reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke is a common way to attempt to quit. Unfortunately, despite the few success stories you may occasionally hear, tapering rarely works. By extending the quitting process, it becomes extremely difficult to give up those final few cigarettes. Further, virtually any physical or psychological trigger can increase the number of cigarettes smoked to the previous high level (if not higher!).

Smokers who try tapering feel a constant sense of deprivation. They often find it almost impossible to sustain their effort to achieve success. Yes, some people have done it, and some programs encourage it. The hope is that, if you reduce to just a few cigarettes, you’ll come to your senses, realize what a horrible habit smoking is, and just stop from that point. A small percentage of individuals has stopped smoking for this reason. But, in general, you already have come to your senses. You do realize what a horrible habit it is (or you’re learning!). So why not just stop?

Why do some people like the idea of tapering? Well, the pros pect of “here one day, gone the next” (about your cigarettes, of course!) may be terrifying. You may feel this is the only way to really psyche yourself to get past this panic.

In all probability, the only real advantage of tapering is that it can remind you of your commitment to a program of giving up smoking. But once you’re fully aware of this commitment, and you can use other much more effective techniques to stop and get it over with, which makes more sense?.

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