Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Nov;22(6):e9.
doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2011-050194. Epub 2012 Jun 16.

The Gold Standard Programme: smoking cessation interventions for disadvantaged smokers are effective in a real-life setting

Tim Neumann  1 , Mette Rasmussen, Nermin Ghith, Berit L Heitmann, Hanne Tønnesen
Affiliations
Free PMC article

The Gold Standard Programme: smoking cessation interventions for disadvantaged smokers are effective in a real-life setting

Tim Neumann et al. Tob Control. 2013 Nov.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the real-life effect of an evidence-based Gold Standard Programme (GSP) for smoking cessation interventions in disadvantaged patients and to identify modifiable factors that consistently produce the highest abstinence rates.

Design: Observational prospective cohort study.

Setting: GSPs in pharmacies, hospitals and communities in Denmark, reporting to the national Smoking Cessation Database.

Participants: Disadvantaged patients, defined as patients with a lower level of education and those receiving unemployment benefits.

Interventions: 6-week manualised GSP smoking cessation interventions performed by certified staff.

Main outcome measures: 6 months of continuous abstinence, response rate: 80%.

Results: Continuous abstinence of the 16 377 responders was 34% (of all 20 588 smokers: 27%). Continuous abstinence was lower in 5738 smokers with a lower educational level (30% of responders and 23% of all) and in 840 unemployed (27% of responders and 19% of all). In respect to modifiable factors, continuous abstinence was found more often after programmes in one-on-one formats (vs group formats) among patients with a lower educational level, 34% (vs 25%, p=0.037), or among unemployed, 35% (vs 24%, p=0.099). The variable 'format' stayed in the final model of multivariable analyses in patients with a lower educational level, OR=1.31 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.63).

Conclusions: Although continuous abstinence was lower among disadvantaged smokers, the absolute difference was small. If the programme had been as effective in disadvantaged as in non-disadvantaged groups, there would have been an extra 46 or 8 quitters annually, respectively. Promoting individual interventions among those with a low education may increase the effectiveness of GSP.

Keywords: Smoking; health disparities; health inequalities; nationwide database; smoking cessation intervention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patient flow. FU, follow-up; GSP, Gold Standard Smoking Cessation Programme; SCI, smoking cessation intervention.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Browning KK, Ferketich AK, Salsberry PJ, et al. Socioeconomic disparity in provider-delivered assistance to quit smoking. Nicotine Tob Res 2008;10:55–61 - PubMed
    1. Hiscock R, Judge K, Bauld L. Social inequalities in quitting smoking: what factors mediate the relationship between socioeconomic position and smoking cessation? J Public Health (Oxf) 2010;33:39–47 - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization WHO Report On The Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2009: Implementing Smoke-Free Environments. 2009. http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/en/
    1. Amos A, Amos A, Bauld L, et al. 2011. Tobacco Control, Inequalities In Health And Action At A Local Level. York: Public Health Research Consortium, 2011
    1. Cahill K, Stead LF, Lancaster T. Nicotine receptor partial agonists for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010;(4):CD006103. - PubMed

Publication types