Abstract
INTRODUCTIONChina has the largest number of smokers in the world. The great majority of China’s smokers desire to quit smoking (QS); however, the success rate of self-quitting is low. This study investigated the effects of smoking cessation (SC) clinics in a cancer hospital in Hunan province and determined the influencing factors of successful SC.METHODSSmokers were recruited to QS by healthcare workers in the SC clinic from February 2015 to February 2019. SC counseling was provided and telephone follow-up was conducted at 1 week, and at 1, 3 and 6 months. Patients who continued SC during the follow-up period were considered to have QS.RESULTSOf the 344 patients included in this study, 16.3% QS at one week, 26.5% at one month, 27.6% at three months, and 31.7% at six months. Age ≥60 years, previous SC attempts, immediate quit dates, and telephone follow-up times (3–4 calls) were predictive factors for smokers to SC at six months.CONCLUSIONSAge, previous attempts to QS, immediate quit dates and telephone follow-up times were independent predictors of SC success at six months. SC clinics and frequent telephone follow-up improve the success rate of SC, especially in patients who have previously tried to QS or in those who set immediate quit dates.
Highlights
China has the largest number of smokers in the world
Behavioral support has been used as part of smoking cessation (SC) counseling and interventions in SC clinics are low-cost and could double an individual’s likelihood of quitting successfully[6]
Participant recruitment Participants were referred by doctors, recruited in the community or voluntarily visited the SC clinic from February 2015 to February 2019
Summary
The great majority of China’s smokers desire to quit smoking (QS); the success rate of self-quitting is low. The adult smoking rate in China is 26.6% (male: 50.2%, female: 2.1%) and the country has the most smokers in the world (approximately 308 million)[2]. The adult smoking cessation (SC) rate in China increased from 2010 (16.9%) to 2018 (20.1%), but it is still at a low level[2,5]. Behavioral support has been used as part of SC counseling and interventions in SC clinics are low-cost and could double an individual’s likelihood of quitting successfully[6]. A meta-analysis reported that individuals provided with behavioral support for at least six months had a 40–80% increased chance of successfully quitting smoking[7]. The frequency and intensity of behavioral interventions have a strong dose-response relationship with the success rate of SC6, and a telephone followup intervention can increase the SC rate[8]
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