November 18, 2005 --

Ben Swann-KFOX Morning News Anchor/Reporter

Three fully loaded jumbo jets crashing every single day. It is a horrible thought, but that is approximately how many people die from smoking related illnesses. If you quit, you reduce your chances of getting sick significantly. But kicking the habit isn't easy. Research shows nicotine replacement therapy helps. But which type works best, the patch, nasal spray, nicotine gum, one of the others? We find answers in our Health Watch Report.

Rhonda Rosburg loves photography. She says she could spend hours in a garden, just shooting. Rhonda says her art is much better now that she has quit smoking. Before she kicked the habit, it seemed she just could not focus.

"I'd have been too worried about when I was going to get my next cigarette," said Rosburg.

Twenty-five years of smoking a pack, a day, was making breathing harder. So Rhonda quit 5 times.

"I tell people that the trail from smoking to permanent abstinence, which is where they want to be, is not a straight line. Lots of curves in the road," said Dr. J. Taylor Hays of the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Hays also says you can make that road a little straighter by using the right combination of nicotine replacement.

"There aren't studies that show one product is clearly better than the other," said Hays.

He recommends choosing products that fit your lifestyle. Here is what is available over the counter: The slow release patch, or faster-acting nicotine gum, and the nicotine lozenge. You need a prescription for the nicotine nasal spray or inhaler.

"I used the patch and I also used the gum for the little strong urges," said Rosburg.

Rhonda's urges to smoke have stopped. Now she focuses on her art, not on the need for nicotine.

In addition to the patch and nicotine gum, Rhonda also had tobacco counseling. These sessions gave her strategies and tools to stay off cigarettes. Research shows counseling plus nicotine replacement is the most effective method for quitting.

If you would like more medical news, visit our health partners Web sites:

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center:http://www.mdanderson.org/

The Mayo Clinic:http://www.medicaledge.org

Baylor College of Medicine:http://public.bcm.tmc.edu/