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Table 3 Overview of behaviour change interventions for tobacco cessation and prevention

From: Evidence-based policy making for health promotion to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases in Moldova

Intervention domains for smoking cessation and prevention

Behavioural Support

M/E-Health

Pharmacotherapy

Brief counselling

• Usually provided by a health professional

• Involves asking patients about their smoking status, advising them to quit and assisting with further help (e.g. prescription or referral).

• Takes no more than 5 min and can increase long-term abstinence rates by 1–3% [45].

Telephone counselling

• Proactive and lasts at least three sessions

• Involves motivational messages, advice for self-regulation,self-monitoring and social support

• Can increase long-term abstinence rates by 2–4% [45].

Intensive face-to-face support

• Provided one-to-one or in groups and usually lasts for at least 4-6 weekly sessions

• Involves provision of social support, advice, and encouragement to minimise motivation to smoke and maximise motivation to remain abstinent, increase the skills and capacity for self-control and optimise effective medication use.

• Strengthening ex-smoker identity, providing rewards and advising on changing routine have proven to be particularly important [46].

• Can increase long-term abstinence rates by 10% [47, 48].

Text messaging

• Wide-reaching and cheap way to communicate with smokers

• Involves the sending of targeted messages to motivate smokers to remain abstinent, provide information and advice on self-regulation.

• Can increases abstinence by up to 5% [49, 50]

Internet/Apps

• Can reach a large number of smokers, provide information in graphic form, have the option for interactive feedback and can exploit economies of scale.

• Evidence for internet-based interventions and apps is currently limited by the poor quality of most studies [51, 52].

Nicotine replacement therapy

• Includes various different forms (including gum, patch and spray)

• Should be provided for at least 8 weeks.

• Decreases the motivation to smoke by reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms, reducing the rewarding effect of smoking and providing behavioural control.

• Can Increase long-term abstinence rates by around 10% [53, 54].

Varenicline

• Partial nicotine receptor

• Should be taken for at least 12 weeks

• Reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms and the rewarding effects of smoking

• Is the most effective pharmacotherapy available [55], can increase long-term abstinence rates by around 15% [56].

Combination therapy

• A combination of pharmacotherapy with behavioural support provides the best long-term outcomes for smoking cessation; can lead to abstinence rates of around 20% at 12 months [57].

• Evidence available that a combination of different pharmacotherapy is more effective than single form pharmacotherapy [58, 59].