Effectiveness of antismoking telephone helpline: follow up survey

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Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an antismoking campaign conducted by the Health Education Board for Scotland. Design: Descriptive survey of adult callers to a telephone helpline (Smokeline) for stopping smoking; panel study of a random sample of adult callers; assessment of changes in prevalence of smoking in Scotland before and after introduction of the helpline Setting: Telephone helpline. Subjects: Callers to Smokeline over the initial one year period. Detailed information was collected on a 10% sample (n=8547). A cohort of adult smokers who called Smokeline (total n=848) was followed up by telephone interview three weeks, six months, and one year after the initial call. Main outcome measures: Numbers of adult smokers calling helpline; changes in smoking behaviour, especially stopping smoking among cohort members; and changes in prevalence of smoking in the general population. Results: An estimated 82 782 regular adult smokers made genuine contact with Smokeline over the year, representing about 5.9% of all adult smokers in Scotland. At one year 143 of the cohort of 848 callers (23.6%; 95% confidence interval 20.2% to 27.0%) reported that they had stopped smoking, and 534 (88.0%; 85.4% to 90.6%) reported having made some change. About 19 500 (16 700 to 22 350) adult smokers, equivalent to 1.4% (1.2% to 1.6%) of the mean adult smoking population, stopped smoking with direct help from Smokeline. During the second year of the campaign (1994) smoking prevalence among 25-65 year olds in Scotland was 6% (2.0% to 10.0%) lower than it had been before the start of the campaign. Conclusion: The Health Education Board for Scotland's antismoking campaign reached a high number of adult smokers, was associated with a highly acceptable quit rate among adults given direct help through Smokeline, and contributed considerably to an accelerated decline in smoking prevalence in Scotland. There was an unprecedented response to the antismoking campaign of the Health Education Board for Scotland, with an estimated 5.9% of adult smokers in Scotland responding to the invitation to call Smokeline, a free telephone helpline, in its first year of operation A panel study of callers to Smokeline, with telephone interviewing, obtained an acceptable response rate of 71.6% at one year follow up Nearly a quarter (23.6%) of smokers who called the helpline were not smoking at the one year follow up, a success rate that exceeds a proposed standard for comparable health education and promotion interventions The Smokeline campaign contributed considerably to an accelerated (6%) reduction in smoking among people aged 25-65 in Scotland during 1992-4 The study findings provide further evidence of the efficacy of mass media antismoking initiatives with a social support component