Is telephone counselling a useful addition to physician advice and nicotine replacement therapy in helping patients to stop smoking? A randomized controlled trial

• Published in: Canadian Medical Association journal 1999-06, Vol.160 (11), p.1577-1581
• Main Authors: Reid, R. D, Pipe, A, Dafoe, W. A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Counseling - methods; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Nicotine; Nicotine - therapeutic use; Nicotinic Agonists - therapeutic use; Nurse patient relationships; Nurses; Nursing; Ontario; Patient education; Sex Factors; Smoking; Smoking Cessation - methods; Telephone; Telephone hotlines; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0008-4409; 0820-3946; 1488-2329

The authors evaluated the incremental efficacy of telephone counselling by a nurse in addition to physician advice and nicotine replacement therapy in helping patients to stop smoking. The trial was conducted at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. A total of 396 volunteers who smoked 15 or more cigarettes daily were randomly assigned to either of 2 groups: usual care (control group) and usual care plus telephone counselling (intervention group); the groups were stratified by sex and degree of nicotine dependence. Usual care involved the receipt of physician advice on 3 occasions, self-help materials and 12 weeks of nicotine replacement therapy. Telephone counselling was provided by a nurse at 2, 6 and 13 weeks after the target quit date. Point-prevalent quit rates were determined at 52 weeks after the target quit date. The point-prevalent quit rates at 52 weeks did not differ significantly between the control and intervention groups (24.1% v. 23.4% respectively). The quit rates did not differ significantly at the secondary measurement points of 4, 12 and 26 weeks. Brief physician assistance, along with nicotine replacement therapy, can help well-motivated smokers to quit. Three additional sessions of telephone counselling by a nurse were ineffective in increasing quit rates. This form of assistance may be useful in the absence of physician advice or when self-selected by patients.