One Size Does Not Fit All When it Comes to Smoking Cessation: Observations from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project

Abstract

The global community, through the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), is seeking to develop Guidelines for the implementation of Article 14 of the Convention, which deals with support for smoking cessation. This development requires models of how best to develop infrastructure and measures to promote and support cessation around the world. This special issue of Nicotine & Tobacco Research provides some evidence from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project that is contributing to an increased understanding of the challenges associated with encouraging and supporting smoking cessation. The ITC project (of which we are all leaders) is a research collaborative of more than 80 tobacco control researchers across 20 countries of which data from 7 countries are featured in this supplement. This commentary discusses three areas where the research reported here makes a contribution: our understanding of dependence; the effects of socioeconomic factors on cessation; and the potential utility of support programs. But first, we describe the context for this research.