Program Targets Smokers’ Weight Worries

Special counseling and medicine may help women who worry about weight gain quit smoking, a study suggests. The study included 349 women smokers who were concerned about weight gain if they quit. They were assigned at random to one of four groups. They received either regular or specialized counseling. They also received either the anti-smoking drug bupropion SR (Zyban) or placebo (fake) pills. The special counseling tried to change attitudes about weight gain. After 6 months, 34% of the women who got this counseling plus Zyban were still not smoking. The success rate was 21% for regular counseling plus Zyban. Women who got placebo pills had a 10% to 11% success rate. But the advantage of special counseling did not last. After 1 year, 24% of those who got the counseling plus Zyban still were not smoking. This compares with 19% of the group with regular counseling plus Zyban.