User talk:Johnpolito

Please do not add commercial links or links to your own private websites to Wikipedia, as you did in Varenicline. Wikipedia is not a vehicle for advertising or a mere collection of external links. You are, however, encouraged to add content instead of links as long as the content abides by our policies and guidelines. See the welcome page if you would like to learn more about contributing to our encyclopedia. Thanks. Fvasconcellos 20:29, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Please stop
Please stop adding commercial links to Wikipedia, as you did in Varenicline. It is considered spamming, and Wikipedia is not a vehicle for advertising. Thanks. Fvasconcellos 22:10, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


 * As you seem to have a lot of experience on the topic, please try to improve the article itself. However, introducing a link to your own writing is considered vanispamcruftisement and will likely be reverted by other editors watching the article.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 22:44, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Response
Sorry I didn't see the discussion section soooner. Before deleting links I'd encourage you to examine them as, like Wikipedia, WhyQuit is an education forum. It sells nothing, is commercial free, declines donations, and receives no private or public funding. The link is a critical analysis of varenicline studies with study reference links to almost all contentions. The outline of arguments raised in the article has been approved for publication as editoral in a leading smoking cessation journal in January. I have reviewed Wikipedia rules and guidelines. If there is some specific rule that you contend applies please cite it. As for Vanispamcruftisement, WhyQuit has been U.S. Google's 3rd ranked "quit smoking" result for a few years. If Wikipedia is going to allow the Chantix link that actually leads to an online pharmacy for sales it can certainly allow contrary factual analysis as to odds of success if purchased. Thanks. --Johnpolito 01:21, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


 * The difference is that the Chantix site is the official site for varenicline maintained by its manufacturers, while WhyQuit is a nonauthoratitive site maintained by individuals (who is "Joel" anyway?) It is also biased towards cold turkey quitting, which I personally support but is not in keeping with our external link policy.
 * Numerous users have now asked you to stop inserting the link. Please decide whether you will be contributing information to Wikipedia on a constructive basis. At the moment your only purpose seems to be to insert those links and gain maximum site traffic (as well as maintaining your cherished Google spot). Your next attempt at reinserting it will meet with a block on this account. JFW | T@lk  11:43, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm sure you must know much about a number of topics but if names like Joel Spitzer or Allen Carr mean nothing to you then this topic obviously isn't one of them. I also encouage you to read Wikipedia's external links policy:

"On articles with multiple points of view, a link to prominent sites dedicated to each, with a detailed explanation of each link. The number of links dedicated to one point of view should not overwhelm the number dedicated to any other. One should attempt to add comments to these links informing the reader of their point of view. If one point of view dominates informed opinion, that should be represented first. (For more information, see Wikipedia:Neutral point of view – in particular, Wikipedia's guidelines on undue weight.)"

It took almost twenty years before we knew the true merits of OTC NRT as revealed by Shiffman & Hughes in their meta analysis (just 7% at 6 months). If you'd like full text copies of any of these studies I'd be delighted to send them. I challenge those who care about smokers who will read this sales pitch to produce any prior cessation study with more intense couseling or support elements than Pfizer's five varenicline studies. It hasn't happened. The 22% Chantix produced at one year does not belong to the chemical but to proven interventions.

John R. Polito (843) 849 9721 john@whyquit.com


 * I am not in the mood to discuss various smoking cessation methods with you, and happily defer to your expertise. But don't twist the external links policy to your advantage. It is an article about varenicline, not about stopping smoking. If the "opinion" is not mentioned in the article, why insert an external link? JFW | T@lk  21:17, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Commercial links
Given your multiple previous warnings on this topic, the next time you insert inappropriate promotional external links on Wikipedia your account will be blocked from editing. MastCell Talk 17:55, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Slow down. Mast Cell, I believe you are the one who deleted WhyQuit links from Smoking Cessation, a link that had been up for years. Yes, as the only voice in opposition to varenicline I tried to have it listed there but was told it was inappropriate. But under Smoking Cessation according to Google it is the net's #1 "cold turkey" quitting site, #2 "stop smoking" Google destination, #3 "quit smoking" destination. As I'm sure you know, the vast majority of successful quitters quit smoking cold turkey (80-90%). As you also know, every link you have listed strongly discouages cold turkey quitting while promoting the purchase and use of cessation pharmacology products. If you will take a moment to explore http://WhyQuit.com you'll quickly see that the site it totally non-commerical, it sells absolutely nothing, has no advertising, is staffed entirely by volunteers, and actually declines donations.

A couple of links you have listed now are not smoking cessation forums but university pharmacology research sites of which there are many. One would think that those visiting a smoking cessation topic would likely be seeking assistance in smoking cessation, not sent to a site telling them how to sign up for clinical trail in Madision Wisconsin. Please sleep on this.

Regards,

John R. Polito Nicotine Cessation Educator john@whyquit.com