I would most definitely consider a taper
vs cold turkey. It would seem that the most effective method depends on how psychologically addicted you are, which I understand may be hard to gauge. People opt for the cold turkey method when they just want to get the physical symptoms of withdrawal over and done with
ASAP... However, if the mental craving is still there, you will need the willpower to ignore the urge. This is why, especially for long term users, the taper method is more effective.