Most Smokers Make Multiple Quit Attempts Before They Quit Smoking for Good

/PRNewswire/ -- The American Lung Association is launching a new smoking cessation campaign, "Quitter in You," designed to highlight the need to change the way Americans look at quitting. A new survey from the organization found that 6 out of 10 former smokers were not able to successfully quit on their first try and required multiple attempts to quit smoking for good.

Anyone who has tried to quit smoking knows it does not always happen on the first try. But what many smokers don't realize is that they are not alone in their failed quit attempts. The Quitter in You campaign acknowledges that multiple quit attempts are normal and are necessary steps along the way to quitting for good.

"This new research shows that most people aren't successful the first time they try to quit smoking," said American Lung Association President and CEO Charles D. Connor. "But each time you try, you learn a little more about the quitter in you. You become a little wiser about what to do and not do the next time. With each attempt, the American Lung Association is here to provide expert support and proven resources that have helped more than one million people quit smoking for good."

The campaign features a new Web site called quitterinyou.org, public service announcements, and a wealth of personalized tools and support from the American Lung Association's "Freedom From Smoking" program to help smokers at each step in the journey toward quitting. Working through traditional and non traditional partners, the campaign is launching this fall in five pilot cities (Harrisburg, Pa.; Richmond, Va.; St. Louis, Mo.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Tucson, Ariz.) and will be expanded in coming months through local American Lung Associations across the country.

Unsuccessful attempts to quit can leave smokers feeling alienated and discouraged. Health care professionals - often the source of information and support - understand this and recognize the need to support their patients' quit attempts. A companion survey among health care providers found that nearly 100 percent think it takes multiple attempts for the average person to quit smoking. A quit attempt is defined as not smoking for at least one day with the intent of not starting again.

The Quitter in You campaign is made possible though funding from Pfizer Inc. "Stopping smoking is a goal for our society to work toward, one accomplished through each smoker's courage to quit," said Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, Pfizer's chief medical officer. "The American Lung Association is working to provide greater support for people who want to quit. We're proud to support its efforts."

Helping more Americans quit smoking remains a top public health priority for the American Lung Association. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 43 million American adults are current smokers. Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 443,000 lives each year, including those affected indirectly, such as babies born prematurely due to prenatal maternal smoking and victims of "secondhand" exposure to tobacco's carcinogens. Smoking cost the United States over $193 billion in 2004, including $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 billion in direct health care expenditures, or an average of $4,446 per adult smoker.

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Watchdog Group: GM Money-Back Guarantee Paid for With Tax Dollars

TT Note: They couldn't pay their creditors, but they can offer a 60 day money back guarantee? Shouldn't that money go back to the taxpayers in the form of repaying their bailout funds? Just wondering.

/PRNewswire/ -- General Motors' new 60-day money back guarantee campaign seems to offer something for everyone -- except taxpayers, the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) pointed out today. NTU Vice President for Policy and Communications Pete Sepp offered the following statement about the program:

This Sunday, General Motors launched a new marketing campaign, 'May the Best Car Win,' and will offer car buyers a 60-day money-back guarantee. Perhaps a more fitting slogan is 'Taxpayers, You Lose.'

Normally a strategy like this would be a bold move to compete in the marketplace - one that consumers and shareholders ultimately decide to reward or punish. Unfortunately, with this 60 percent government-owned company, taxpayers don't have the option of 'pulling out' of GM and putting their investments elsewhere; unless, of course, they'd like to be prosecuted by the IRS and spend a few years in jail. As a pro-market organization, we would applaud GM's gutsy approach - if only GM hadn't rigged the market in the first place.

Given that rigged market, it's no wonder GM can afford to offer money-back guarantees. After all, it's got $50 billion in bailout money. And it's probably not going to pay it back, according to a report last week from a Congressional Oversight Panel.

Since the federal government owns 60 percent of GM, maybe it ought to consider offering a money-back guarantee to the taxpayers as well. Instead, with this money-back guarantee GM continues to flaunt the enormous taxpayer investment in it.

According to the State of New York Banking Department, a new car loses up to 20 percent of its value the second it drives off a dealer's lot. Should taxpayers be footing this bill for GM's Zipcar-like incentive program?

If GM has money to burn on this type of program, perhaps it doesn't really need the $50 billion it received from the Treasury.

NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit citizen organization founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, smaller government, accountability from public officials, and economic freedom at all levels. In 2008 and 2009, the group actively opposed both the automaker bailout by mobilizing its members in email alerts, conducting talk radio interviews, issuing vote alerts to lawmakers, and lobbying Congressional staff face-to-face. Note: For further information, visit www.ntu.org.

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