One-year evaluation of three smoking cessation interventions administered by general practitioners

Three smoking cessation interventions designed for use by general practitioners (GPs) within the routine consultation were evaluated in a field setting using 26 GPs throughout metropolitan Sydney. A total of 450 smoking patients were allocated to either Structured Behavioral Change with nicotine gum (Group SBCN), Structured Behavioral Change without nicotine gum (Group SBC), or GP advice with nicotine gum (Group AN). Although significant differences in the percentage of abstainers were observed between Groups SBCN and SBC three weeks after treatment (39% vs. 26%), the point prevalence abstinence rate for patients at 12 months declined to 19, 18, and 12% for Groups SBCN, SBC, and AN, respectively. Continuous abstinence to the end of the 12-month period was 9% for Groups SBCN and SBC, and 6% for Group AN. Forty-eight percent of the 450 patients made an attempt to stop smoking, and 89% reduced their cigarette consumption at some point during the study. Examination of 132 self-selecting patients who fully participated in the three interventions and attended all scheduled visits, revealed significantly larger proportions of abstainers within Groups SBCN (34%) and SBC (33%) than in Group AN (15%) at the 12-month follow-up.