Plan to Stop Smoking for Good -- Health Questions Answered

Stop Smoking for Good

Q: I'm finally ready to quit smoking. What's the best way to do it successfully?

A: Some things are easy to quit (terrible jobs, failing diets), but smoking's not one of them -- unless you use this anti-addiction cocktail that combines traditional methods with nontraditional ones.

The goal: To control cravings, stop the addiction and provide motivation.

The plan: Walk 30 minutes a day and call a friend to say you've finished. This helps establish discipline and instill confidence.

On day 30, start taking Wellbutrin, a prescription antidepressant that controls cravings. On day 32, toss your cigarettes and slap on a nicotine patch. The first few days will be toughest, but if you can make it past day 7, you're on the downhill side of the addiction mountain. Keep walking and calling your friend, and add some weight training to control weight gain. Among our patients, we've seen a 90% success rate with this plan (cold turkey works less than 5% of the time).

E-mail your comments and questions to Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz at HealthIQ@rd.com.