Tobacco quitline outcomes by service type

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Addiction Medicine
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Tobacco use poses significant mortality, morbidity, and economic burdens.
• Effective cessation treatments are available for motivated tobacco users.
• The South Dakota QuitLine offers free coaching and cessation products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe service utilization patterns among South Dakota QuitLine participants.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of different cessation service combinations on long-term abstinence.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of enrollment and outcome data from 11,603 South Dakota QuitLine participants (2008-2011).
• Seven-month point prevalence abstinence rates were assessed for various service types.
• Statistical comparisons were made between different service modalities.

Main Results:

• Coaching with varenicline was the most requested service (64.6%).
• Overall abstinence at seven months was 47.2%.
• Varenicline/coaching yielded significantly higher abstinence (49.8%) compared to coaching only or coaching/NRT.

Conclusions:

• All South Dakota QuitLine service options achieve over 40% cessation rates.
• Providers should screen for tobacco use and refer patients to the QuitLine.