Statewide Web- and phone-based tobacco cessation programs can help people quit smoking, but various factors may contribute to which type of program patients prefer, a study published in the journal Cancer has shown.1
Beginning in 2009 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have sought to build evidence comparing the effectiveness of state tobacco quitlines and Web-based tobacco cessation interventions.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from 4086 participants of either quitlines or Web-based tobacco cessation services. Participants were from 4 states and all had completed standardized questionnaires between 2011 and 2012. Researchers found that quitline users were significantly older, were more racially and ethnically diverse, less educated, less likely to be employed, and more likely to be single than Web-based users.
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Results showed that the 30-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA) rate at 7 months was 32% and 27% for quitline users and Web-based users, respectively. Quitline users were 1.26 times more likely to be abstinent than Web-based users (95% CI: 1.00-1.58; P = .053).
The study also demonstrated that being partnered, not living with another smoker, low baseline cigarette use, and more interactions with the intervention were associated with a significantly higher likelihood of quitting.
“Tobacco control programs can use these findings to better target their quit-smoking programs to smokers in their area,” Antonio J. Neri, MD, MPH, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said. “The goal is to help people stop smoking and stay tobacco free—it’s the most important thing smokers can do for their health, as smoking causes cancer and many other illnesses.”
Reference
1. Neri AJ, Momin BR, Thompson TD, et al. Use and effectiveness of quitlines versus Web-based tobacco cessation interventions among 4 state tobacco control programs [published online ahead of print February 8, 2016]. Cancer. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29739.
