Study: Life is Better After Quitting Smoking - East Idaho News
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Study: Life is Better After Quitting Smoking

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GETTY H 031011 CigaretteAshtray?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1324234441074Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — While giving up smoking is difficult to do, new research suggests that those who successfully quit will have a better quality of life.

HealthDay reports that quitters experience less stress and a better mood after going smoke-free for three years, compared to smokers.

“Quitting is hard, but if you can actually do it, there are a lot of benefits that you might not have thought about,” said Megan E. Piper, study author and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and its Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention. “If you thought you’d have more stress, that quitting would put more stress on your relationships, or that you’ll feel worse forever, that isn’t the case.”

The study surveyed 1,504 people from Wisconsin—58 percent women, 84 percent white—between 2005 and 2007. Participants were divided among six groups, where they either used a nicotine patch, nicotine lozenges, the drug bupropion (Wellbutrin), a combination of those aids or a placebo to help them quit. All the participants were also subjected to counseling.

Though the findings did not yield a specific percentage increase in the quality of life, there’s a definite gain in quitting, Piper said.

The findings were published online on Dec. 9 in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

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