Tobacco industry research on smoking cessation

BACKGROUND: Smoking rates are declining in the United States, except for young adults (age 18 to 24). Few organized programs target smoking cessation specifically for young adults, except programs for pregnant women. In contrast, the tobacco industry has invested much time and money studying young adult smoking patterns. Some of these data are now available in documents released through litigation. OBJECTIVE: Review tobacco industry marketing research on smoking cessation to guide new interventions and improve clinical practice, particularly to address young adult smokers’ needs.     

Benefits of smoking cessation

Smoking affects cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk through multiple biologic mechanisms, including inflammatory and hemostatic factors as well as the development of atheroma. Smoking cessation rapidly reduces the risk of CVD and death in a wide range of populations; previous studies may have under-estimated the benefits, as most rely on self-reported smoking status at one point in time only. Smoking cessation also considerably increases life expectancy and quality of life. Early studies were mostly confined to men in Western populations, but recent studies have confirmed that the risk of smoking (and benefits of quitting) appears similar in low-and middle-income countries and in women. Given the high prevalence of smoking and increasing incidence of CVD, the public health benefits from quitting are likely to be substantial in most parts of the world, and this should remain a top public health priority.     

Strategies for smoking cessation

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, accounting for more than 400,000 deaths annually. Recent advances in the treatment of smoking cessation and prevention of relapse offer promise to many smokers, especially vulnerable smokers such as those with coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular disease. Varenicline, a newly approved medication for smoking cessation, is a welcome addition to the clinician’s treatment arsenal. Other options for treatment include new uses of traditional nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), such as the simultaneous use of two forms of NRT or starting NRT prior to the quit-smoking date. A combination of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic strategies is appropriate for most smokers and effectively doubles quit rates compared with rates in smokers who try to quit without the help of a clinician. Drawing appropriately from existing therapeutic options, the clinician should aim to treat smokers at all levels of interest in quitting.     

Pharmacological approaches to smoking cessation

Smoking, the most prominent nongenetic factor contributing to mortality, remains the major public health problem throughout the world. There are nearly 1.1 billion users of nicotine and tobacco products worldwide while approximately one third to half of them will die from smoking-related disease. The habit of smoking is mainly propelled by nicotine, a strongly addictive substance, to which the vast majority of smokers fall victim. Except for the general and specific support and counseling strategies there are now effective treatments for nicotine addiction. Two types of pharmacological therapies have been approved and are now licensed for smoking cessation. The first therapy consists of nicotine replacement, substituting the nicotine from cigarettes with safer nicotine formulations. The second therapy is bupropion, an antidepressant of the aminoketone class, which has been demonstrated to be effective in smoking cessation. However, although some cigarette smokers are able to quit, many are not, and standard medications to assist smoking cessation are ineffective. Several agents used for other indications (e.g. neurological diseases, depression, alcoholism) might be used to treat this subgroup. In conclusion, new more effective drugs are needed in order to fight the panepidemic of smoking globally.     

Effective treatment for smoking cessation

An effective method of cigarette smoking cessation using acupuncture is described. From May 1976 to December 1982, 514 patients were treated. Of 339 evaluable patients, 297 stopped smoking, for a success rate of 88 percent. In a two-year follow-up, the rate of relapse was 31 percent. The possible mechanisms by which this technique works are discussed.     

Markov model of smoking cessation

Survival functions from smoking cessation interventions are described by a three-state Markov model. On quitting, smokers transit through a state of withdrawal characterized by a high rate of relapse, and then into a more secure state of long-term abstinence. The Markov model embodies the dynamic nature of the cessation/relapse process; it permits stronger inference to long-term abstinence rates, provides measures of treatment efficacy, describes the outcomes of new quit attempts, and suggests mechanisms for the survival process.     

Effectiveness of hospital-based smoking cessation

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Smoking cessation for current smokers is a health-care imperative. It is not clear which approaches to smoking cessation are the most effective in the hospital setting and which factors predict long-term abstinence. We hypothesized that a hospital-based smoking cessation program involving behavioral modification and support would provide an effective intervention for smoking cessation. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Smoking cessation clinics in a tertiary referral, cardiothoracic hospital. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred forty-three smokers and 187 never-smoker control subjects. INTERVENTIONS: Smokers underwent specific sessions of individual counseling on behavioral modification, including written information, advice about quit aids, and support during the quit attempt. Abstinence was confirmed by exhaled carbon monoxide measurements. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Compared to never-smoker control subjects, smokers were more likely to have grown up with a smoking father or siblings, and to currently live or socialize with other smokers. Two hundred sixteen smokers attended at least two sessions of the smoking cessation program. Of these, 25% were unavailable for follow-up at 12 months and were assumed to be smoking. The point prevalence abstinence rate at 12 months was 32%. Independent factors associated with abstinence at 12 months were self-belief in quitting ability, having a heart condition, growing up without siblings who smoked, and increasing number of pack-years. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective study has demonstrated that this hospital-based smoking cessation program was as effective as programs in other settings. Social and psychological factors were associated with a greater chance of abstinence.     

Methods for smoking cessation.

Smoking cessation treatment consists of three phases: preparation, intervention, and maintenance (support and coping strategies). Although most people who quit smoking do so without going through a formal program, many people act on the advice of a health professional. Self-help techniques appear to be cost effective in terms of their minimal use of professionals. The popularity of hypnosis and acupuncture as quitting methods are not warranted by their quit rates. Quit rates can be improved if physicians provide more help to their patients than just simple advice and warnings.     

Training physicians about smoking cessation

Study objective:To test the hypotheses that physicians in private practice who receive a continuing education program (entitled “Quit for Life”) about how to counsel smokers to quit would counsel smokers more effectively and have higher rates of long-term smoking cessation among their patients. Design:Randomized trial with blinded assessment of principal outcomes. Setting:Private practices of internal medicine and family practice. Subjects:Forty-four physicians randomly assigned to receive training (24) or serve as controls (20) and consecutive samples of smokers visiting each physician (19.6 patients per experimental and 22.3 per control physician). Interventions:Physicians received three hours of training about how to help smokers quit. Physicians and their office staffs were also given self-help booklets to distribute to smokers and were urged to use a system of stickers on charts as reminders to counsel smokers about quitting. Measurements and main results:Based on telephone interviews with patients, physicians in the experimental group were more likely to discuss smoking with patients who smoked (64% vs. 44%), spent more time counseling smokers about quitting (7.5 vs. 5.2 minutes), helped more smokers set dates to quit smoking (29% vs. 5% of smokers), gave out more self-help booklets (37% vs. 9%), and were more likely to make a follow-up appointment about quitting smoking (19% vs. 11% of those counseled) than physicians in the control group. One year later, the rates of biochemically confirmed, long-term (≥9 months) abstinence from smoking were similar among patients in the experimental (3.2%) and control (2.5%) groups (95% confidence interval for the 0.7% difference: −1.7 to +3.1%). Conclusions:The authors conclude that this continuing education program substantially changed the way physicians counseled smokers, but had little or no impact on rates of long-term smoking cessation among their patients. There is a need for more effective strategies to help physicians help their patients to quit smoking. Supported by Grant # CA38337 from the National Cancer Institute and by the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation Faculty Fellowship in General Internal Medicine (SRC).     

Factors associated with long-term smoking relapse in those who succeeded in smoking cessation using regional smoking cessation programs

It is known that approximately 10% of successful quitters relapse annually. This study aimed to investigate the factors related to long-term smoking relapse in individuals who succeeded in maintaining smoking cessation for 6 months after attending a regional smoking cessation program.This study enrolled 943 individuals registered for the regional smoking cessation program at the Busan Smoking Cessation Center in 2018–2019 who maintained smoking cessation for 6 months. A survey was conducted using a smartphone link or through phone calls, and the data for 305 participants who finally completed the survey were analyzed. The questionnaire addressed individual, inter-individual, organizational, and community-level factors related to smoking relapse. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the factors associated with smoking relapse by period. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used for the factors associated with smoking relapse for the entire period.The smoking relapse rate at the time of the survey was 25.4%. In the analysis of smoking relapse by period, relapse was associated with the belief that smoking relieves stress, the number of single-person households, and poor subjective health status. In the analysis of smoking relapse during the entire period, we observed a significant association with the belief that smoking relieves stress (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.65, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.52–4.61), single-person households (HR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.16–3.26), and high levels of emotional stress (HR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.04–2.85).Long-term follow-up is necessary to prevent smoking relapse in single-person households, individuals who believe that smoking relieves stress, and those experiencing high levels of subjective emotional stress. Interventional therapies for stress relief and awareness improvement in smokers need to be developed.     

Maintenance of smoking cessation.

Relapse is a frequently encountered problem in smoking cessation. With a cognitive-behavioral model of the relapse process, we can describe high-risk situations where smoking first recurs, the process by which people end up in these situations, and typical responses to violations of abstinence. The model posits that individuals are actively coping with situation-specific urges to smoke that result from prior conditioning. Individuals' beliefs in their ability to cope with urges are critical. Clinical strategies based on the model include assessment of risk profiles, understanding and anticipating high-risk situations, debriefing and reinterpreting lapses in abstinence, and limiting risk through lifestyle changes. These strategies can be incorporated into brief medical office visits. Recommended procedures include systematic but brief assessment, encouragement, goal setting, planning for risk, reinterpreting lapses, recommendations for lifestyle changes, and follow-up appointments.     

Community resources for smoking cessation

Cigarette smoking continues to be the single largest preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Unfortunately, smoking cessation rates in the United States have stalled despite the availability of effective smoking cessation treatments. Although community-based smoking cessation services delivered in person, via the phone, and via the Internet have been shown to be effective channels of intervention, few smokers actually use the services for smoking cessation treatment. Recent studies suggest that pursuing innovative strategies may lead to increased reach and a potential increase in cessation rates. As such, researchers and clinicians can take advantage of these strategies and programs to help promote smoking cessation resources that can be used to effectively treat nicotine dependence and ultimately reduce cardiovascular disease and cancer.     

Non-nicotine pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation

International chronic obstructive pulmonary disease guidelines recommend that smokers be strongly advised to quit, and should be offered help in doing so. The most effective smoking-cessation interventions combine behavioural support with pharmacotherapies. For smokers who do not wish to use nicotine replacement treatments, bupropion is a safe and effective non-nicotine alternative first-line treatment. Nortriptyline and clonidine have demonstrated efficacy in aiding smoking cessation, but are regarded as second-line therapies. A number of other non-nicotine treatments show promise, but more data are required before these can be recommended in assisting smokers to stop.