Application of the MRFIT smoking cessation program to a healthy, mixed-sex sample

The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) included a smoking cessation program that was highly successful (40.3% abstinence prevalence rate at 48-month follow-up) when used with other interventions for a male, middle-aged population at high risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). Our study employed the MRFIT cessation program alone with a mixed-sex, mixed-age, healthy population. We wished to determine its effectiveness when applied in a manner similar to other smoking cessation programs. Fifty-six subjects participated in a 10-week intervention followed by maintenance or extended intervention programs. The 52% abstinence prevalence rate at the end of the 10-week intervention dropped to 32% after four months, 25% at eight months, 25% at 12 months, and 27% at 16 months. The higher cessation rates of the original MRFIT study may be related to motivation and other characteristics of the high-risk population and to the combination of the smoking component with other interventions for CHD, rather than to the characteristics of the smoking intervention itself. Although the MRFIT program is comprehensive and includes vigorous maintenance activities, it is also expensive and may not be cost-effective or as desirable as programs with slightly lower cessation rates.