Comparison of two self-help smoking cessation booklets

Objective-To compare two self-help smoking cessation booklets distributed t o callers to a Quitline telephone service in Queensland (Australia). Design-Callers were randomised to receive either a structured 14-day quit p rogramme (Time to quit) or another booklet that described four broad stages of quitting (Can quit). Approximately one month later, these callers were interviewed by telephone. Main outcome measures-Self-reported smoking status at one month and recent quit attempts together with process measures. Results-Altogether, 521 callers (78.3%) were interviewed, They were heavier smokers when compared with all Queensland smokers: on average they had smo ked for more than 15 years, smoked nearly 25 cigarettes per day, and almost two-thirds had attempted to quit smoking in the past year. In each group, significant proportions either did not begin to use the booklet (50.5-56.0% ), or did not complete its use (77.4-82.3%). There were no differences in t he self-reported quit rates at one month (17.0% vs 16.1%; p 0.93). In an or dinal regression modelling procedure involving age, sex, number of recent q uit attempts, number of cigarettes smoked per day, smoking status of partne r, number of five closest friends who smoke, education, and booklet receive d, only the number of cigarettes smoked per day was significantly related t o smoking status at one month. Conclusions-Callers to telephone Quitline services are typically heavier sm okers than the general smoking population, and simple strategies, such as s elf-help booklets, appear to achieve relatively high success. Nevertheless, there is potential to improve the effectiveness of these materials by maki ng a range of materials available and encouraging callers to make a serious attempt to quit smoking.