Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on July 28, 2009
Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdp074
The effectiveness of NHS smoking cessation services: a systematic review
Linda Bauld, Professor of Social Policy1
Kirsten Bell, Tobacco Research Coordinator2
Lucy McCullough, Research Assistant2
Lindsay Richardson, Research Co-ordinator2
Lorraine Greaves, Executive Director, BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health2
1 Department of Social and Policy Sciences and UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, University of Bath, Bath, UK
2 British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women's Health, Vancouver, Canada
Address correspondence to Linda Bauld, E-mail: L.Bauld{at}bath.ac.uk
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Objectives To analyse evidence on the effectiveness of intensive NHS treatments for smoking cessation in helping smokers to quit.
Methods A systematic review of studies published between 1990 and 2007. Electronic databases were searched for published studies. Unpublished reports were identified from the national research register and experts.
Results Twenty studies were included. They suggest that intensive NHS treatments for smoking cessation are effective in helping smokers to quit. The national evaluation found 4-week carbon monoxide monitoring validated quit rates of 53%, falling to 15% at 1 year. There is some evidence that group treatment may be more effective than one-to-one treatment, and the impact of buddy support varies based on treatment type. Evidence on the effectiveness of in-patient interventions is currently very limited. Younger smokers, females, pregnant smokers and more deprived smokers appear to have lower short-term quit rates than other groups.
Conclusion Further research is needed to determine the most effective models of NHS treatment for smoking cessation and the efficacy of those models with subgroups. Factors such as gender, age, socio-economic status and ethnicity appear to influence outcomes, but a current lack of diversity-specific analysis of results makes it impossible to ascertain the differential impact of intervention types on particular subpopulations.
Keywords: deprivation, gender, NHS stop smoking services, smoking cessation, smoking treatment, systematic review