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CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal logoLink to CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal
. 1999 Jun 1;160(11):1577–1581.

Is telephone counselling a useful addition to physician advice and nicotine replacement therapy in helping patients to stop smoking? A randomized controlled trial

R D Reid 1, A Pipe 1, W A Dafoe 1
PMCID: PMC1230362  PMID: 10373999

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The authors evaluated the incremental efficacy of telephone counselling by a nurse in addition to physician advice and nicotine replacement therapy in helping patients to stop smoking. METHODS: The trial was conducted at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. A total of 396 volunteers who smoked 15 or more cigarettes daily were randomly assigned to either of 2 groups: usual care (control group) and usual care plus telephone counselling (intervention group); the groups were stratified by sex and degree of nicotine dependence. Usual care involved the receipt of physician advice on 3 occasions, self-help materials and 12 weeks of nicotine replacement therapy. Telephone counselling was provided by a nurse at 2, 6 and 13 weeks after the target quit date. Point-prevalent quit rates were determined at 52 weeks after the target quit date. RESULTS: The point-prevalent quit rates at 52 weeks did not differ significantly between the control and intervention groups (24.1% v. 23.4% respectively). The quit rates did not differ significantly at the secondary measurement points of 4, 12 and 26 weeks. INTERPRETATION: Brief physician assistance, along with nicotine replacement therapy, can help well-motivated smokers to quit. Three additional sessions of telephone counselling by a nurse were ineffective in increasing quit rates. This form of assistance may be useful in the absence of physician advice or when self-selected by patients.

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Selected References

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