The wave of smoking cessation programs that were introduced in the '90s anti-smoking push may have reached their peak.
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The New York City Department of Health's 16-day-long Nicotine Patch and Gum Giveaway saw 1,000 fewer participants than last year. According to some experts, the rate of American adult smokers has remained constant over the last five years, at 21 percent.
Dr. Jonathan Whiteson, the director of the Cardiac and Pulmonary Wellness and Rehabilitation Program at NYU Langone, said that the program did not take the behavioral aspect of smoking into account.
"Many times what we do is provide nicotine in a supervised atmosphere and at a very small dosage so that people don't feel the very serious withdrawal symptoms," he said. "The idea is clearly to take them off it so we have someone who is completely off the nicotine and who changes their behavior, and understands their habits and their weak spots."
According to Audrey Silk, founder of NYC's Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, it is possible that the city's efforts to amend laws to decrease smoking rates may have lead to the decrease in participation in the program. The city's most recent effort bans New Yorkers from smoking in 1,700 parks, several beaches and even some public spaces, including Times Square.
"Adults who smoke are becoming increasingly defiant to exhortations to quit smoking or that Big Anti-Smoker has reached its saturation point," she said.
However, John Polito, editor of WhyQuit.com, a site that supports smoking cessation through cold turkey methods, disagrees. The reason for the decrease, he says, is due to the failure of weaning methods.
"Five years ago 21 percent of adult Americans smoked," he said. "Today, after massive price increases, tons of free nicotine, the arrival of Chantix and smoke-free ordinances moving outdoors into parks, 21 percent of Americans still smoke. Government-funded replacement nicotine giveaways nationwide are a total waste of taxpayer dollars."
Tisch sophomore Catarina Cowden, a social smoker, also said that the decrease is not due to lower smoking rates.
"I honestly do not see a decrease in smokers," she said. "Smoking cigarettes is also associated with a city lifestyle around the world. I don't think that New York City will ever be able to substantially decrease the number of smokers."
According to Whiteson, the city should consider re-evaluating the give-away.
"Just giving a patient a patch or gum is too isolated," he said. "It must come with a comprehensive program."
