Nurses’ Advice Boosts Smokers’ Chances of Quitting

January 22, 2008
By Joan Hennessy, Contributing Writer
Health Behavior News Service
Center for the Advancement of Health

Despite countless public service ads, educational programs and the scary warnings on cigarette packs, roughly one in every five American adults still smokes. However, a new systematic review finds that nurses can get the “quit now” message across effectively.

The analysis of 31 clinical studies—comprising some 12,000 adult smokers—finds that smokers offered advice by nurses have an increased likelihood of quitting compared to smokers without such intervention.

The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

Studies analyzed involved at least two groups of patients: one that received advice from nurses and another that did not. Some studies were low intensity, involving a single 10-minute consultation with no more than a single follow-up session, while high-intensity intervention provided longer consultations in which patients were given materials and strategies and received additional follow-up care.

Reference:
Rice VH, Stead LF. Nursing interventions for smoking cessation (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 1.

Media release:
http://www.hbns.org/getDocument.cfm?documentID=1636