Implementation and outcomes of a community-based self-help smoking cessation program

In a time of budget constraints, health professionals are turning to minimal-contact smoking cessation programs as the most financially feasible alternative for smoking cessation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a program by the American Lung Association using the manual Freedom From Smoking for You and Your Family (Strecher & Rimer, 1988) in a community-based smoking cessation self-help intervention. Results showed a quit rate of 15%, and study findings were consistent with other similar studies. Those most likely to succeed were over 40 years old, better educated, and among the most confident of quitting at the onset.