Advice against smoking is not effective in patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy

Advice against smoking is one of the means frequently used in the management of patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO). The objective of this study was to prospectively evaluate the efficacy of such advice. The study was performed at a referral centre. Eighty-five smokers out of 102 consecutive patients with GO, who were examined during a 1-year period, were included in the study. Severity of the disease, smoking history, and the results from a patients' self-assessment questionnaire were recorded. The behavioural intervention consisted in a standardized 2-min message from the attending ophthalmologist strongly advising each patient to quit. The main outcome measure was smoking cessation during the 1-year follow-up period. None of the 85 smokers reported smoking cessation either during the follow-up visits or at the end point of the study. The results of our study show that advice against smoking is not effective among patients with GO. Specifically designed intervention programmes may be necessary and should be evaluated in a controlled trial.