THE PHYSICIAN-DELIVERED SMOKING INTERVENTION PROJECT - CAN SHORT-TERM INTERVENTIONS PRODUCE LONG-TERM EFFECTS FOR A GENERAL OUTPATIENT POPULATION

Patterns of smoking cessation using 6- and 12-month follow-up data are reported for 1,261 primary care patients randomized to 3 physician-delivered smoking interventions: advice only (AO), counseling (CI), and counseling plus availability of nicotine-containing gum (CI+NCG). One-week-point-prevalence cessation rates at 12 months did not differ among the interventions: AO (15.2%), CI (12.9%) and CI+NCG (16.7%). However, maintained cessation rates (abstinent at both 6 and 12 months) increased with intervention intensity: AO (6.0%), CI (7.8%) and CI+NCG (10.0%): Test of trend chi2 = 5,06, p = .02. CI+NCG was significantly higher than AO (p = .02). The findings support the following conclusions: Brief physician-delivered intervention with availability of nicotine-containing gum can have a beneficial long-term effect on smoking cessation, and cohort data as well as point-prevalence rates are important when assessing the long-term impact of lifestyle interventions.