Five-year outcomes for a smoking cessation clinic

Abstract

Background and objectives: In Turkey, smoking cessation clinics have increased rapidly in recent years. We evaluated the demographic characteristics and the factors influencing the success of quitting among participants in a smoking cessation programme who completed a 5-year follow up.

Methods: An observational study was conducted on all smokers who attended a smoking cessation clinic between April 2000 and June 2005.

Results: Of the 350 participants recruited, 58% (n = 203) were male and 42% (n = 147) were female; 43.7% were university graduates. The average age of participants was 37.4 +/- 11.8 years; the average nicotine addiction level, according to the Fagerstrom nicotine dependence questionnaire, was 5.4 (+/-2.0). Seventy-eight (40.2%) of the 194 individuals who stopped smoking were women. At the end of 5 years, 34.6% of participants who attempted to quit were still successful. There was no difference between men and women in terms of their success in quitting after 5 years. Participants who received nicotine replacement therapy remained free of cigarettes 1.9 times (95% CI: 1.2-2.9) longer than those who did not.

Conclusion: Smoking cessation programmes should use a combination of behavioural and pharmacological therapies.