Telephone counselling for smoking cessation

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Telephone services offer vital information and support for individuals attempting to quit smoking.
• Counselling interventions can be delivered proactively or reactively through smoking cessation helplines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of proactive and reactive telephone support interventions for smoking cessation.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a comprehensive search of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group trials register for relevant studies up to August 2000.
• Included randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials assessing telephone counselling for smokers or recent quitters.
• Extracted data, focusing on continuous abstinence at six months, using rigorous definitions and biochemical validation where available; meta-analysis was performed using a fixed effects model.

Main Results:

• Twenty-three trials met the inclusion criteria.
• Proactive counselling showed a significant benefit in three of ten trials compared to minimal intervention, with heterogeneity noted.
• Telephone support added to face-to-face interventions or used with nicotine replacement therapy did not demonstrate a significant long-term quit rate improvement.

Conclusions:

• Proactive telephone counselling demonstrates effectiveness when contrasted with interventions lacking personal contact.
• The heterogeneity across trials introduces uncertainty regarding the precise magnitude of the effect.
• Evidence is inconclusive regarding the benefit of telephone counselling as an adjunct to in-person counselling or pharmacotherapy.