Efficacy of forced smoking cessation and an adjunctive behavioral treatment on long-term smoking rates

This study evaluated the efficacy of a 6-week forced ban on smoking and bri ef behavioral counseling on long-term smoking rates. Participants were acti ve-duty enrollees in U.S. Air Force basic military training over a 1-year p eriod (N = 25,996). All participants were under a 6-week ban from tobacco p roducts, and 75% were randomized to a brief smoking cessation intervention, with the other 25% randomized to a control condition. At 1-year follow-up, 18% of smokers were abstinent; women, ethnic minorities, and those intendi ng to stay quit at baseline were more likely to be abstinent. Among smokers not planning to remain abstinent at baseline, those receiving the interven tion were 1.73 times more likely to be abstinent. Over time, substantial sm oking initiation occurred among nonsmokers (8% of never smokers, 26% of exp erimental smokers, and 43% of ex-smokers). Forced cessation is associated w ith good levels of long-term cessation, and brief behavioral interventions enhance cessation in certain subgroups.