Quitting Smoking Can Be Made Easier

By Dr. Laurie Zawertailo, Clinical Scientist and Cherry Zhao, Graduate Student at CAMH

Do you want to quit smoking? There are many reasons why people make this decision, and all of them are valid and personal. Whether it’s to improve your health, to save money, to make your loved ones happy, to make yourself happy, a combination of these things or something else entirely, becoming tobacco-free may be an important step in your life.

Quitting can be difficult, but studies have shown that medications such as bupropion and varenicline more than double your chances of successfully quitting. However, these medications can be costly and not everyone who wants to quit smoking can afford them.

The Medication Aids for Tobacco Cessation and Health (MATCH) Study can now help you to quit smoking – all at no cost!  If you are 19 years or older, a resident of Ontario, wish to quit smoking within 30 days of receiving the assigned study medication, and meet the study’s eligibility criteria, then you can receive 12 weeks of medication (you will be randomly assigned to receive either bupropion or varenicline) free of charge to help you quit smoking.

In return, we need your information, whether or not you quit smoking during the program. MATCH Study will assess your smoking status for up to one year after you enroll, in order to capture meaningful, useful data for other potential smokers looking to quit. This follow-up is important to determine the long-term effectiveness of these medications.

We need your participation and hope to help you become smoke-free. To learn more about the study and to enroll, please visit the study website at: www.matchstudy.ca

For more information on other CAMH programs geared towards smoking cessation, please contact our Nicotine Dependence Clinic