Because quitting tobacco is so difficult, many smokers seek some form of treatment to help them succeed. Nicotine is the addictive substance in tobacco, and nicotine addiction can be treated in several ways. The most effective methods are behavioral counseling and nicotine replacement therapy, particularly when they are combined.

Smoking Trends

Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use, and smoking is one of the nation's most serious public health problems. Tobacco use causes more than 430,000 deaths each year in the United States and is the leading preventable cause of death. Most adults in the United States have either smoked cigarettes or used some other tobacco product. In addition, an estimated 13.4 percent of young people ages 12 to 17 were smokers in 2000.

Although the number of Americans who smoked decreased in the late 1900s, the current number of smokers is still high...