One-year evaluation results from CableQuit: a community cable television smoking cessation pilot program

Abstract

CableQuit was a 6-week, community cable television smoking cessation program, with 13 30-min "live" sessions, each followed by a 30-min "live" telephone call-in support segment. Telecasts were hosted by a public health educator with postdoctoral training in smoking cessation. Five smokers from Austin, Texas, were selected to participate "live" in the studio, while registrants followed step by step at home. A time-series design was utilized to evaluate program effectiveness. Baseline and follow-up data were gathered via mail as well as saliva samples, subsequently tested for cotinine analysis of smoking status. Participants were followed-up at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months. Nonsmokers at 1 year had significantly greater levels of self-efficacy (p < .004) and significantly lower levels of depression (p < .03) than smokers. A 1-year quit rate of 17% exceeded those of previous televised programs (5-15%). Utilization of combined face-to-face smoking cessation techniques with mass media warrants further research.