Jump to full article: Ha'aretz Newspaper/Magazine, 2009-06-05
Author: Ronny Linder-Ganz
Intro: What is the most effective way to discourage smoking? Chantix tablets? A support group? Nicotine patches? Or, how about sharply raising the price of cigarettes by jacking up the tax?
A new study compared the efficacy of the various methods in Israel for the first time, looking at medical efficacy and cost efficiency. The results are presented here in a ranked list.
. . .
The team compiled two lists: One lists methods that save the state money. The other lists methods that may not achieve that end, but the methods in both lists have proved effective in helping people stop smoking.
The first contains methods that were found to be cost-effective, meaning they involve costs, but ultimately save the health system money.
These include raising the tax on cigarettes (which just happened, adding NIS 2 per pack of cigarettes), taking large doses of Champix tablets (2 milligrams a day), or drug therapy combined with a telephone hotline for quitters in crisis.
The second list includes methods that don't save the health establishment money. But they were found to be more cost-effective for the smoker: Each shekel invested in these methods had a considerable contribution to the health of both the actual smoker and his associates, who may suffer the effects of passive smoking. This list also contains Pfizer's Champix tablets, but at a lesser dosage of 1 milligram a day, as well as the drug Zyban. Nicotine patches also make this list, as did counseling.
Jump to full article » |