"Ready to quit chew?" - Smokeless tobacco cessation in rural Nebraska

A quit-chew media campaign was conducted in a 10-county region of south-cen tral Nebraska. The campaign involved television and radio appearances, news paper articles, and paid billboard advertisements. Smokeless tobacco users who called a toll-free helpline were provided quitting resources. Twelve mo nths after the campaign ended, follow-up contact was completed with 104/205 (51%) of chewers who received the quit kits. A majority (70%) reported mak ing some change, such as using less or switching brands, and 49% had made a quit attempt. The point prevalence quit rate was 11.5%. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.