Effectiveness of antismoking telephone helpline: follow up survey

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 82782 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 19500 (16700 to 22350) adult smokers, equivalent to 1.4% (1.2% to 1.6%) of the mean adult smoking population, stopped smoking with direct help from Smokeling. 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.