Targeting Nonsmokers to Help Smokers Quit: Features of a Large-scale Intervention

Smoking continues to be a major public health problem, despite a substantial decline in prevalence rates over the last decades. Quit smoking interventions typically target smokers, whether through individual or group treatment or through broader public health campaigns. Yet, nonsmokers represent a v...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gary J Tedeschi, Leslie S Zoref, Sharon E Cummins, Shu-Hong Zhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2020-07-01
Series:Tobacco Use Insights
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/1179173X20943565
Description
Summary:Smoking continues to be a major public health problem, despite a substantial decline in prevalence rates over the last decades. Quit smoking interventions typically target smokers, whether through individual or group treatment or through broader public health campaigns. Yet, nonsmokers represent a vast and largely untapped resource to help smokers quit. This article describes an innovative approach that targeted nonsmokers through a media-style campaign with repeated reminders about smoking cessation. We tested the nonsmoker intervention in a large randomized trial and showed it to be effective in helping smokers quit. Components of the intervention included repeated mailings with relevant cessation messages over a 10-week period, 2 brief check-in telephone calls, and access to a study Web site. In this article, we discuss details of the intervention development, content, and implementation.
ISSN:1179-173X