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
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2013 May;108(5):966-74.
doi: 10.1111/add.12084. Epub 2013 Mar 11.

A randomized controlled trial of a smoking cessation intervention conducted among prisoners

Robyn Richmond  1 , Devon Indig, Tony Butler, Kay Wilhelm, Vicki Archer, Alex Wodak
Affiliations
Free PMC article
Randomized Controlled Trial

A randomized controlled trial of a smoking cessation intervention conducted among prisoners

Robyn Richmond et al. Addiction. 2013 May.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of nortriptyline (NOR) added to a multi-component smoking cessation intervention, which included cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and provision of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).

Design: Randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing two study groups with blinded follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months. Both groups received a multi-component smoking cessation intervention comprising two half-hour individual sessions of CBT and NRT with either active NOR or placebo.

Setting: Prisons in New South Wales (17) and Queensland (one), Australia.

Participants: A total of 425 male prisoners met inclusion criteria and were allocated to either treatment (n = 206) or control group (n = 219).

Measurements: Primary end-points at 3, 6 and 12 months were continuous abstinence, point prevalence abstinence and reporting a 50% reduction in smoking. Smoking status was confirmed by expired carbon monoxide, using a cut-point of ≤10 parts per million.

Findings: Participants' demographics and baseline tobacco use were similar in treatment and control groups. Based on an intention-to-treat analysis, continuous abstinence between the treatment and control groups was not significantly different at 3 months (23.8 versus 16.4%), 6 months (17.5 versus 12.3%) and 12 months (11.7 versus 11.9%).

Conclusion: Adding nortriptyline to a smoking cessation treatment package consisting of behavioural support and nicotine replacement therapy does not appear to improve long-term abstinence rates in male prisoners.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of recruitment and retention of participants through the trial
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2011. 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey Report. Drug Statistics Series no. 25. Canberra, AIHW. - PubMed
    1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2002. Australia's Health, 2002. Canberra, AIHW. - PubMed
    1. Richmond RL, Butler T, Belcher JM, Wodak A, Wilhelm KA, Baxter E. Promoting smoking cessation among prisoners: feasibility of a multi-component intervention. Aust NZ J Public Health. 2006;30:474–478. - PubMed
    1. Butler T, Lim D, Callander D. National Prison Entrants' Bloodborne Virus and Risk Behaviour Survey Report 2004, 2007 and 2010. Sydney: Kirby Institute (University of New South Wales) and National Drug Research Institute (Curtin University); 2011. ISBN: 978-0-7334-3055-8.
    1. Baker A, Ivers R, Bowman J, Butler T, Kay-Lambkin FJ, Wye P, et al. Where there's smoke, there's fire: high prevalence of smoking among some sub-populations. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2006;25:85–96. - PubMed

Publication types