NEW YORK, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Healthy New Year! A recent survey of more than 1,000 smokers from across the United States found that more than 60 percent of smokers are likely to quit smoking for the new millennium. Smoker

But who are the "Millennium Quitters" and how will they make Y2K the year they kick the habit? According to survey results, 53 percent of "Millennium Quitters" are light smokers, or those who smoke less than one pack a day. Seventy-six percent of "Millennium Quitters" are either Democrat or Independent, and 85 percent have tried to quit smoking in the past. When asked what methods they would be most likely to use to quit for the new year, "Millennium Quitters" gave a variety of responses, including prayer, chewing confectionery gum and hypnotherapy. Nearly four in ten older "Millennium Quitters" (age 35 and over) and the same proportion of those who have smoked for more than 5 years said they would be most likely to use smoking cessation aids or therapies, such as a nicotine patch, gum or other medication, hypnotherapy or stop smoking programs. The majority of younger "Millennium Quitters" (aged 18-34) said they would rely on self-help methods, such as quitting cold turkey or gradually quitting, using prayer or will power, exercising or chewing gum. Nearly two-thirds of "Millennium Quitters" said they will support their quit attempt on New Year's Day by engaging in some sort of activity to take their minds off of smoking. Eleven percent will spend time with friends and family, while others will participate in physical activities, such as exercising (9 percent) and playing sports (6 percent). Some chose other activities, such as resting (7 percent), participating in a hobby (5 percent) or praying/attending church (2 percent). Seven percent of "Millennium Quitters" even said they would work on January 1, 2000 to keep their minds off smoking! The Millennium Quitters Survey, sponsored by SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare, was conducted by International Communications Research of Media, PA. Telephone interviews were conducted between September 17 and October 3, 1999, among a national sample of 1,046 adult smokers, 18 years of age or older. For a survey of this size, the sampling error is +/- 3.1% at the 95% confidence level. SmithKline Beecham originated the over-the-counter (OTC) nicotine replacement therapy category with the FDA approval of Nicorette(R) nicotine gum and continues to lead the market after the introduction of NicoDerm(R) CQ(R) nicotine patch and the launch of Nicorette Mint(R). SmithKline Beecham -- one of the world's leading health care companies -- discovers, develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines and health-related consumer products. For company information, visit SmithKline Beecham on the World Wide Web at http://www.sb.com.

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