Smoking Cessation Leaders Team Up to Help 'Become an EX' Members Accomplish Their New Year's Resolutions to Quit Smoking

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Setting a New Year's resolution to quit smoking is among one of the most common resolutions, but also one of the most difficult to keep. Many smokers who attempt to quit do so without any support, and the overwhelming majority of these quit attempts are unsuccessful. In fact, about 97 percent of all cold turkey quit attempts fail within six months.(i)

To better help smokers looking to quit fulfill their New Year's resolutions, Legacy(SM) and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare are partnering to offer free Nicorette® starter packs to more than 125,000 members of the EX® program (www.BecomeAnEX.org), where smokers "re-learn life without cigarettes" with a free, comprehensive three-step quit plan and access to a robust online community.

"New Year's is one of the most popular times for a smoker to consider quitting smoking; however, many smokers need support to do so successfully. Smokers who make the important decision to quit should utilize available resources to help them understand what to expect when quitting," said Dr. Cheryl Healton, president and CEO of Legacy. "EX is a program that provides smokers with the tools to help them 're-learn life without cigarettes.' Having access to a cessation medication can also help address cravings and withdrawal symptoms while quitting."

Nicotine replacement therapy, such as Nicorette, can help relieve cravings as a result of quitting smoking and can double a smoker's chances of quitting.(i),(ii) It is recommended as a first-line treatment for smoking addiction by national and international guidelines (iii),(iv) and is thoroughly researched and highly accessible over the counter without a doctor's prescription.

"Quitting smoking is difficult, and study after study shows that when smokers have access to a broad range of tools to help them quit, they are more successful in the long-term. By working together to provide free support, we are enabling smokers to quit," said Karen Scollick, Vice President, Behavioral Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.

Smokers interested in quitting can access free quit plans, tools and resources at www.BecomeAnEX.org and www.Nicorette.com.

About EX

EX® is a collaborative public health campaign presented by the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation, a partnership of the nation's leading public health organizations and states. The campaign helps smokers prepare to quit and guides them to useful resources that foster successful quit attempts including the EX plan, a free personalized quit plan available on the campaign's Web site www.BecomeAnEX.org. EX is the culmination of several years of research and testing, combining an understanding of the power of nicotine addiction with messages that resonate with and motivate smokers toward behavior change. The EX approach is peer to peer and focuses on "re-learning life without cigarettes" by encouraging smokers to think differently about the process of quitting. The campaign, which began airing nationwide in March 2008, includes television, radio, online and out-of-home advertising. The EX Web site helps smokers create their own individual plan to quit and connects them to a virtual community of other smokers where they can share stories and strategies about quitting. Founding members of the NATC include numerous states and the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the National Cancer Institute, the American Legacy Foundation, C-Change, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and clinical partner, the Mayo Clinic.

About Legacy(SM)

Legacy(SM) is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the national public health organization helps American live longer, healthier lives. Legacy develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation's programs include truth®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as having contributed to significant declines in youth smoking; EX®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.americanlegacy.org.

About Nicorette

Nicorette is a stop-smoking aid which provides fast, safe, controlled doses of nicotine to ease withdrawal from cigarettes. Nicorette allows smokers to control how much nicotine they use, and gives them the added flexibility of chewing an additional piece within the hour to treat strong or frequent cravings. Nicorette is sugar-free and available in strengths of 2mg (for smokers of less than 25 cigarettes each day) and 4mg (for smokers of 25 or more cigarettes each day) and also is available in exciting flavors such as White Ice Mint, Fresh Mint, Fruit Chill, and Cinnamon Surge. For more information, please visit the newly optimized www.Nicorette.com.

About GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is one of the world's largest over-the-counter consumer healthcare products companies. Its more than 30 well-known brands include the leading smoking cessation products, Nicorette®,  NicoDerm® CQ and Commit® as well as many medicine cabinet staples, including Aquafresh®, Sensodyne,® Tums® and Breathe Right®.

About GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For company information visit: http://www.gsk.com.

(i) Hughes JR, Keely J, Naud S. Shape of the relapse curve and long-term abstinence among untreated smokers. 2004 Addiction, 99, 29-38.

(ii) Fiore MC, Jaen CR, Baker TB, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. May 2008.

(iii) World Health Organization. (2003). Policy recommendations for smoking cessation and treatment of tobacco dependence. Geneva: World Health Organization.

(iv) NICE. 2002. Guidance on the use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and bupropion for smoking cessation. Technology Appraisal Guidance – No.39.

DISCLAIMER: Legacy endorses the use of nicotine replacement therapies (NRT's).  However, Legacy does not endorse Nicorette or any other GSK products or services.  Neither GSK nor GSK Consumer Healthcare has provided any funding or other consideration to Legacy in connection with the program.

SOURCE Legacy; GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare