Researchers have stressed that smokers who want to give up smoking quickly and effectively should try relying more on their willpower than expensive patches and chewing gum.

An extensive review of over a hundred studies into ceasing of smoking managed to reveal that a large majority of former smokers had given up without having tuned to nicotine replacement therapies.

It seems that good ol' willpower alone works wonders for people who seriously want to give up on the habit.

In addition, the study, carried out by Australian researchers, has managed to show that studies which talk highly about the winders of nicotine patches, gums and pills are generally funded by drug companies.

Also, the study revealed that 51% of the trails funded by pharmaceutical companies found patches and gum to be "significantly" beneficial, compared to only about 22% of independent studies.

Details of the research have been published in the journal PLoS Medicine.