Recently, the Internet has been used for many innovative solutions to different problems, including smoking cessation.  While Internet-based interventions have become more and more popular, little has been done to test their effectiveness.  A recent Cochrane Review, “Internet-based Interventions for Smoking Cessation,” was conducted to provide more evidence on the subject and to determine if web-based smoking cessation interventions can effectively help people to stop smoking.

The review analyzed data from twenty randomized and quasi-randomized trials which enlisted smokers and studied any type of Internet-based intervention.   From these studies, researchers analyzed both short term outcomes (less than three months) and long term outcomes (6 months or longer) after follow-up.

While results from these trials were fairly inconsistent, results did show that some web-based interventions can assist in smoking cessation.  This was especially true for websites that had individually-tailored information and frequent contact with the users.  In addition, results showed that Internet-based interventions may be more successful when coupled with other smoking cessation treatments.  In general however, more research is needed on long-term success rates to determine the effectiveness of Internet-based smoking cessation interventions.

For more information please visit: http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab007078.html