Efficacy of a Rheumatoid Arthritis-Specific Smoking Cessation Program: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

Smoking adversely influences comorbidities in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether smoking cessation is increased following a 3-month smoking cessation intervention tailored for people with RA.

Thirty-nine current smokers with RA were recruited. Participants were randomized into the control group to receive the current local standard of care for smoking cessation (i.e., ABC = brief advice and subsidized nicotine replacement therapy [NRT], or into the intervention group to receive ABC plus additional smoking cessation advice for 3 months (ABC+), including face-to-face, telephone, and e-mail contact. Advice was tailored to the participants' specific needs from a range of intervention tools focused on education about smoking and RA, pain control, exercise, coping, and support. The primary outcome was smoking cessation at 6 months. The secondary outcome was sustained reduction in smoking at 6 months. Disease and psychosocial characteristics of quitters and nonquitters were examined.

The overall smoking cessation rate was 24%. There was no significant difference in smoking cessation rates between the ABC and ABC+ groups (21% versus 26%; P = 0.70). The mean number of cigarettes smoked daily was reduced by 44% (P < 0.001) but did not differ between ABC and ABC+ groups (mean reduction 47% versus 41%; P = 0.72). Successful quitters had more years in education and had smoked less across their lifetime, but these differences were not statistically significant.

Smoking cessation in RA may lead to a reduced comorbid burden. The lack of added benefit of the tailored intervention suggests that brief advice and NRT are currently the best practice for supporting people with RA who wish to quit smoking.