Intervention domains for smoking cessation and prevention | ||
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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]. |