Health Research

November 29, 2007

Smoking Cessation Rates Double with Intensive Counseling and Free Nicotine Replacement Therapy, Studies Show

Increasing the level of Quitline smoking cessation services and offering free nicotine patches are a successful and cost-effective way to reduce smoking rates, according to two new studies in the December issue of Tobacco Control, a peer-reviewed publication of the British Medical Journal.

Both studies were conducted by researchers at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., the Oregon Health Department, and Free & Clear in Seattle, a phone-based tobacco treatment program.

One study found that the number of callers to the Oregon Tobacco Quitline jumped from 6,426 to 13,646 annually, and quit rates nearly doubled, when Oregon became the first state in the United States to promote Quitline services by combining one 30-minute telephone counseling session with a free two-week supply of Nicotine Replacement Therapy.

The second study looked at 4,600 smokers and is the largest randomized trial ever conducted on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative Quitline services and polices. Smokers in the study were randomly assigned to one of six levels of services when they called the Oregon Tobacco Quitline: brief counseling (one 15-minute call) with or without NRT, moderate counseling (one 30-minute call and one follow-up call) with or without NRT, or intensive counseling (one 30-minute call and four follow-up calls) with or without NRT.

More than 21 percent of the smokers quit after receiving intensive counseling plus NRT, compared to 11.7 percent of the smokers who quit after brief counseling with no NRT.

For more information, read this news release.