What if we combine Quit and win and individual approach to help smokers quit at the community level?

• Published in: European journal of public health 2019-11, Vol.29 (Supplement_4)
• Main Authors: Kovacevic, J, Zombori, D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Cigarette smoking; Cost analysis; Counties; Drug addiction; Economic conditions; Employment; Incentives; Local communities; Long term; Monetary incentives; Public health; Quantitative analysis; Sex; Sexual behavior; Smoking; Socioeconomic status; Socioeconomics; Statistical analysis; Tobacco
• ISSN: 1101-1262; 1464-360X
• DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckz187.001

Abstract Issue Tobacco eventually kills up to a half of its users. Helping smokers who wish to quit is one of the six cost effective interventions listed by World Bank to decrease smoking harm. Tobacco Control Scale in 2016, shows diversity in approaches and coverage to help smokers quit across Europe. Comprehensive interventions are most effective. Combining contest, financial incentives, individual approach and triggers (start of Lent or other) could be implemented in other settings. Description of the problem Contest to motivate smokers for a quit attempt and individual help provided, has been conducted yearly since 2015 in a local community in Pozega-Slavonia County in Croatia. Data on all participants from 2015 through 2018 contests were collected by questionnaires and long term smoking status (6 months) evaluated by phone interviewing. Statistical analysis was conducted in SPSS. The objective was to determine how effective in helping smokers quit is a novel combination of evidence-based approaches “Quit and win” and individual support in local setting and to establish certain smokers characteristics as possible predictors of outcome. Results Data for 153 participants were collected. There were more (54%) male participants. Participants mean age was 35.8 years (range 18-67). Short term (30 day) abstinence rate was 73.9% (113/153) and out of those 34.1% (31/91) abstained long term (6 months). Long term follow-up was 80.5% (91/113). Overall, long term quit rate was 23.7% (31/131). There were no statistically significant differences in short and long term quit rates depending on age, sex, education, employment or socio-economic status, pack-year measure or personal success estimates. Lessons Comprehensive contest approach was found to be effective in helping smokers quit. Interest for implementation was shown by several counties and cities in Croatia. Effectiveness regardless of personal and social characteristics of contestants shows potential in different settings. Key messages Comprehensive interventions that include contest, financial incentives, individual approach and triggers in smoking cessation helped one in four involved smokers to quit. This approach has potential for implementation in diverse local communities as no difference in quit rates in different sex, age or socioeconomic groups were detected.