Opportunities for improving inpatient smoking cessation programs: a community hospital experience

This cohort study examined the role of smoking during hospitalization, duration of cessation counseling, patient awareness of the hospital's smoke-free policy, belief that smoking is associated with a current symptom or disease, and the presence of withdrawal symptoms with 12-month smoking cessation among inpatients enrolled in a smoking cessation program.

Inpatients in four community hospitals (N = 1,317) participated in a smoking cessation intervention consisting of face-to-face counseling at baseline and four follow-up counseling phone calls. Patients were classified as nonsmokers only if they reported not smoking at both the 6- and the 12-month interviews. All patients lost to follow-up were considered smokers.

At 1 year the smoking cessation rate was 22.5%. Cessation was independently associated with reporting no smoking during hospitalization, noting no withdrawal symptoms at baseline, and believing that a current illness or symptom is related to smoking. Length of counseling interview and awareness of the hospital's smoke-free policy were not independently associated with cessation. CONCLUSIONS. Smoking cessation programs and hospital policies that decrease smoking during hospitalization, address withdrawal symptoms during hospitalization, and make clear the connection between a patient's health and cigarette smoking may increase the effectiveness of their smoking cessation efforts.