INTERVENTION FOR RELAPSE TO SMOKING - THE LUNG HEALTH STUDY RESTART PROGRAMS

The Lung Health Study enrolled 3,923 participants in a smoking cessati on intervention program, and followed them for 5 years. The study prov ided intensive group interventions for participants who had relapsed. The purpose of this analysis was to describe and evaluate these Restar t programs. Among 1,004 relapsed participants, the percent not smoking at 5th year was higher for men who had used Restart (47) compared to those who had not (28); but not for women (42 vs. 33). Overall, there was equivocal evidence of the impact of the Restart programs due to li mitations in the evaluation design. Because relapse is a common featur e of efforts to quit smoking, relapse intervention programs need furth er study and more rigorous evaluation.