Scam alert - QuitSmokingRankings.com

The people who run the QuitSmokingRankings (QSR) website must think smokers are REALLY stupid. The site claims to provide smokers with 'independent research' into 17 quit smoking products, but a cursory glance at their research 'methodology' suggests that the whole thing is designed to lure desperate smokers into buying expensive but third-rate infomercial products.

My skeptical antenna was twitching from the second I got to their site.

Firstly, they claim to provide "in-depth reviews and rankings of leading quit smoking products" but four of the five products they recommend are herbal or homeopathic products, which real scientific research has conclusively shown to be ineffective. For example, all of their recommended herbal products are based on the substance lobeline, an alkaloid extract of the flowering herb lobelia. Here is what the esteemed Cochrane Collaboration had to say about lobeline for smoking cessation: "There is no evidence available from long-term trials that lobeline can aid smoking cessation." It adds, "Even short-term studies do not indicate a consistent effect on smoking behaviour."

This is a scientist's way of saying "It doesn't work". But despite this damning indictment from real scientists, QSR claims: "Herbs have shown overwhelming evidence that they work." Sadly, they do not quote any studies, research, testimonials or statistics to support this claim, and this is the second problem.

QSR makes enormous claims for the products they promote - bigger claims, in fact, than many of the manufacturers themselves - but unless they are supported by evidence (in the case of smoking cessation, evidence is usually via controlled studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals) they are worse than useless. Anyone can claim a 100% success rate - show me the data.

QSR claims to have used stringent criteria for their product selection: "effectiveness, longevity, safety, side effects, quickness of results and success rates." Allegedly based on 'consumer feedback' and their own research they give brands marks out of ten based on each criteria. Looking at the effectiveness 'data', QSR claims that the success rates for their top 5 products are 100%, 97.5%, 95%, 92.5% and 90% respectively. To anyone who works in the smoking cessation field, these figures are laughable.

For example, their fifth ranked product - for which they claim a 90% success rate - is a nicotine patch. According to Cochrane, based on genuinely independent, peer-reviewed data from over 100 clinical trials, the success rate for the nicotine patch is approximately 10%. How does QSR account for this huge difference? I know which figure I believe.

These people should be ashamed of themselves, but my guess is that they'll be too busy dealing with customer complaints, as the makers of some of the products they promote are. For example, the FTC slapped Smokeaway (formerly a QSR recommended product) with a $1.3m fine for deceptive marketing practices. In May 2008 the makers of another QSR recommended product - Zero Nicotine - were sued by the Federal Trade Commission for misrepresentation, failure to disclose material facts, the unauthorised billing of customer's credit cards and false product claims. Amazingly QSR ranks this company's reputation and customer service as 'very good'.

I welcome dialogue with QuitSmokingRankings.com, or the makers any of the scam products they promote, in fact, I beg them to get in touch to have an open debate about success rates and research.

If you are looking to quit smoking, start at http://www.theeasywaytostopsmoking.com/ and click on the success rates tab to see a comprehensive review of the success rates of all major -and some not so major - quit methods.