Smoking cessation is associated to health benefits, because individuals who stop smoking will avoid most tobacco-related disorders. Our aim was to review the most important characteristics and the efficacy of the pharmacological and psychossocial treatments available for tobacco smokers, presenting meta-analysis and randomized clinical trials fundamental conclusions. Pharmacological interventions involving nicotine replacement and antidepressant use, with bupropion as the first line agent, and psychossocial interventions involving cognitive behavioral therapies and face-to-face or phone-based motivational interventions are proving to be efficacious. Pharmacotherapies increase two-fold the chance of abstinence and face-to-face or phone-based psychosocial interventions increase the chance of quitting smoking in 1.5 to 2.5 times in comparison to individuals who try to quit smoking by themselves. These data support health professionals to decide the most effective treatment for individual smokers, according to the available interventions tested, their efficacy and the benefits of use.
tobacco; smoking; therapy; drug therapy
