| Methods |
Country: UK
Recruitment setting: General practice, recruitment during a visit or by letter. Smokers who completed a questionnaire about smoking habits. |
| Participants |
497 smokers (av. cpd 17) |
| Interventions |
1. Physician advice (face‐to‐face or in a letter) and a leaflet
2. As 1, plus invitation to contact a trained practice nurse for more intensive tailored counselling. Up to 5 follow‐up visits offered |
| Outcomes |
Abstinence at 12 m (sustained at 3 m and 12 m)
Validation: saliva cotinine at 3 m and 12 m |
| Notes |
2 vs 1. Only 30% took up offer of extended counselling. Included in high‐intensity subgroup based on intended intervention but sensitivity analysis for effect of treating as low intensity |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) |
Low risk |
"An independent statistical advisor performed randomization from computer‐generated random numbers." |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) |
Low risk |
"The allocations, in blocks of 20, were in sequential sealed, opaque envelopes opened by the research nurse at the time of recruitment." |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
All outcomes |
Unclear risk |
75% completed follow‐up survey at 12 m; number in each group not specified Participants lost to follow‐up counted as smokers |
