Research Plus

Smoking cessation

Two Cochrane systematic reviews find evidence to support the use of telephone counselling¹(77 controlled trials were included, covering over 85,000 participants) and interventions delivered by nurses²(49 studies, more than 17,000 participants) to help people quit smoking.  Both reviews include workplace settings. For smokers contacting helplines (nine studies, 24,000 participants), the meta-analysis risk ratio (RR) for quitting in those randomised to receive multiple sessions of proactive counselling is 1.37 (95% CI 1.26–1.50). Telephone counselling not initiated by a call to a helpline (51 studies, 30,000 participants) is also effective (RR = 1.27; 95% CI 1.20–1.36) and there is some evidence that more calls lead to a greater chance of quitting. A meta-analysis  of 35 studies comprising more than 17,000  participants demonstrates that nurse-led interventions  giving advice, counselling and/or quitting strategies, are  better than control or usual care in increasing the  likelihood of quitting (RR 1.29; 95% CI 1.20–1.39). The  evidence is strongest for longer-term structured, rather  than brief, interventions and those provided by nurses  whose main role is health promotion or smoking  cessation, and weakest when delivered as part of a  health check.

1. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013; 8: CD002850
2. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013; 8: CD001188

Tags evidence based practice smoking

Occupational Health at Work October/November 2013 (vol. 10/3) pp41