Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants.
| ACE n = 310 | SSS n = 310 | Total n = 620 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 41·3 (11·1) | 40·3 (11·8) | 40·8 (11·5) | |
| Male | 170 (54·8%) | 161 (51·9%) | 331 (53·4%) | |
| Ethnicity, n = 617 | Indian | 14 (4·5%) | 13 (4·2%) | 27 (4·4%) |
| Pakistani | 5 (1·6%) | 4 (1·3%) | 9 (1·5%) | |
| Bangladeshi | 2 (0·6%) | 3 (1·0%) | 5 (0·8%) | |
| Asian (other) | 10 (3·2%) | 10 (3·2%) | 20 (3·2%) | |
| Black: African | 3 (1·0%) | 10 (3·2%) | 13 (2·1%) | |
| Black: Caribbean | 11 (3·6%) | 21 (6·8%) | 32 (5·2%) | |
| Black: Other | 8 (2·6%) | 6 (1·9%) | 14 (2·3%) | |
| Mixed race | 14 (4·5%) | 20 (6·5%) | 34 (5·5%) | |
| White: UK or Irish | 178 (57·8%) | 157 (50·8%) | 335 (54·3%) | |
| White: Other European | 41 (13·3%) | 43 (13·9%) | 84 (13·8%) | |
| White: other | 13 (4·2%) | 16 (5·2%) | 29 (4·7%) | |
| Other | 9 (2·9%) | 6 (1·9%) | 15 (2·4%) | |
| Education achieved, n = 616 | GCSE, CSE or equivalent | 30 (9·7%) | 24 (7·8%) | 54 (8·8%) |
| A‐Level | 45 (14·6%) | 43 (14·0%) | 88 (14·3%) | |
| Vocational qualification | 23 (7·4%) | 23 (7·5%) | 46 (7·5%) | |
| Degree BA, BSc | 116 (37·5%) | 127 (41·4%) | 243 (39·4%) | |
| Postgraduate degree | 69 (22·3%) | 59 (19·2%) | 128 (20·8%) | |
| Other | 26 (8·4%) | 31 (10·1%) | 57 (9·3%) | |
| Number of cigarettes smoked/day, n = 619 | 10 or less | 102 (32·9%) | 135 (43·7%) | 237 (38·3%) |
| 11–20 | 163 (52·6%) | 142 (46·0%) | 305 (49·3%) | |
| 21–30 | 37 (11·9%) | 27 (8·7%) | 64 (10·3%) | |
| More than 30 | 8 (2·6%) | 5 (1·6%) | 13 (2·1%) | |
| Age started smoking (years), n = 617 | 17·1 (4·3) | 16·6 (3·7) | 16·9 (4·0) | |
| Lives with other smokers, n = 617 | 105 (34·0%) | 104 (33·8%) | 209 (33·9%) | |
| At least 1 quit attempt in past 12 months | 196 (63·2%) | 196 (63·2%) | 392 (63·2%) | |
| FTND score 5–8 | 129 (41·6%) | 112 (36·1%) | 241 (38·9%) | |
| Quit efficacy, n = 473 | 20·7 (4·3) | 20·8 (4·1) | 20·8 (4·2) | |
| Baseline CO reading, n = 473 | 17.5 (9.8) | 15.1 (10.2) | 16.4 (10.1) |
ACE = Allen Carr's Easyway method. SSS = specialist stop smoking service (SSS) providing behavioural and pharmacological support in accordance with national standards; CO = carbon monoxide; FTND = Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence; SD = standard deviation. All measures were taken before randomization, n = 620 unless otherwise stated.