| Methods |
Setting: 5 methadone maintenance treatment programme centres, USA
Recruitment: smokers routinely attending maintenance clinic. Willingness to quit not required |
| Participants |
383 methadone‐maintained adult smokers. 53% M, av age 40, av cpd 27 |
| Interventions |
Pharmacotherapy: NRT; all participants willing to make quit attempt offered patches (8 to 12 weeks, dose and duration tailored to smoking rate)
1. Motivational interview‐based tailored intervention: up to 3 visits from study counsellor, i.e. 1 x 30‐min + 15 to 30‐min quit‐date session, + follow‐up relapse prevention session. Those not ready to quit only received 2 sessions.
2. Control: Brief advice using NCI's 4As model (< 3 mins), + S‐H materials. Up to 2 visits, i.e. baseline and quit date (if set) |
| Outcomes |
Abstinence at 6 months (PP)
Validation: CO < 8 ppm |
| Source of Funding/CoI |
National Cancer Institute. GlaxoSmithKline provided nicotine patches. No declarations of interest |
| Notes |
Included since most participants in both conditions did make quit attempts and received NRT; 81% intervention and 80% control |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) |
Unclear risk |
Randomised, methods not stated |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) |
Unclear risk |
No details reported |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias)
All outcomes |
Low risk |
Biochemically validated |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
All outcomes |
Low risk |
Approx 82% followed up in both groups at 6 months |
