Cunningham 2016.

Methods	Country: Canada Recruitment: by random digit dialling
Participants	1000 smokers (≥ 10 cpd) 51% female, average age 49, average cpd 18, mean FTND 5
Interventions	1. Nicotine patches. 5 weeks total, tapered: 3 weeks 21 mg, 1 week 14 mg, 1 week 7 mg (unclear if 16 or 24 h) 2. No intervention Level of support: low; no support provided (patches mailed to intervention participants)
Outcomes	30‐day PP at 6 months Validation: Saliva cotinine < 15 µg/L
Notes	New for 2017 update Total n followed up from author correspondence Funding: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Participants randomized "using a random number generator contained in the computer assisted telephone interview program" This was "conducted in blocks of 10 with a 1:1 allocation to the experimental group within each block and no stratification"
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	As above
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	High risk	The participants knew which group they were in, although the interviewers were masked to the experimental group at each follow‐up point "(ensured through use of the computer‐assisted telephone interview program)” No placebo control
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	389/500 and 415/499 followed up at 6 months