MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A common New Year' s resolution to quit smoking can be doomed if the smoker isn' t ready to get help to overcome the habit, researchers say.

Usually only 7 percent of people who try to quit around New Year' s Day are successful, according to the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School. " Tobacco dependence is powerful and holds people in its grip for decades, " said Michael Fiore, the center' s director. " If you' re committed to quitting, there are treatments that can make a difference." The market includes four nicotine and non-nicotine treatment and cessation clinics like the one operated by the center. Treatments can cost from $3 to $10 per day, but a pack-a-day smoker spends around $1, 000 a year. " A few years ago we had virtually nothing to offer people other than a warning that smoking will kill you. Now we have medicines and counseling, " Fiore said. Fiore this year headed a national panel that wrote the U.S. Public Health Service' s clinical guidelines for combatting tobacco use and dependence. One finding was that tobacco dependence is a disease, and seeking medical help is important in the effort to overcome it. Gloria Meyer, the center' s director of communication, said counseling is helpful in finding the answers to questions such as how to beat back a craving at an inopportune moment, or how to handle smoky situations such as parties.

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