Objectives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a brief smoking cessa
tion intervention for women 15 to 35 veers of age attending Planned Parenth
ood clinics.
Methods. Female smokers (n = 1154) were randomly assigned either to advice
only or to a brief intervention that involved a 9-minute video. 12 to 15 mi
nutes of behavioral counseling, clinician advice to quit, and follow-up tel
ephone calls.
Results. Seventy-six percent of those eligible participated. Results reveal
ed a clear, short-term intervention effect at the 6-week follow-up (7-day s
elf-reported abstinence: 10.2% vs 6.9% for advice only, P < .05) and a more
ambiguous effect at 6 months (30-day biochemically validated abstinence: 6
.4% vs 3.8%. NS).
Conclusions. This brief, clinic-based intervention appears to be effective
in reaching and enhancing cessation among female smokers, a traditionally u
nderserved population.