Characteristics of smokers screened and study participants
| Parameter | Smokers screened (n=219) | Eligible non-participants (n=44) | Study participants (n=28) | PO group (n=13) | CF group (n=15) | p Value* |
| Age, mean (SD) | 55.4 (12.8) | 59.4 (9.8) | 54.5 (10.5) | 53.5 (8.1) | 55.4 (12.4) | 0.65 |
| % Male | 48.8 | 61.4 | 60.7 | 69.2 | 53.3 | 0.39 |
| Years of education, mean (SD) | 12.1 (3.1) | 11.6 (4.2) | 11.7 (3.4) | 12.9 (2.3) | 10.6 (4.0) | 0.08 |
| Cigarettes/day, mean (SD) | 15.1 (10.4) | 16.9 (10.6) | 17.5 (8.0) | 20.7 (8.8) | 14.8 (6.2) | 0.05 |
| Years smoking cigarettes, mean (SD) | 33.3 (15.0) | 34.7 (13.6) | 34.6 (14.5) | 32.5 (15.1) | 36.4 (14.1) | 0.49 |
| Time to first cigarette | ||||||
| % Within 30 min of waking | 67.3 | 72.2 | 78.5 | 77.0 | 80.0 | 0.87 |
| % More than 30 min after waking | 32.7 | 27.8 | 21.5 | 23.0 | 20.0 | |
| Confidence (SD)† | 5.4 (3.3) | 6.1 (3.4) | 6.2 (3.1) | 5.0 (3.2) | 7.3 (2.6) | 0.05 |
| Importance of quitting (SD)‡ | 7.2 (3.3) | 7.5 (3.2) | 8.3 (2.4) | 8.6 (2.7) | 7.9 (2.3) | 0.47 |
| Quit attempts | ||||||
| None | 41.3 | 53.2 | 35.7 | 30.8 | 40.0 | 0.78 |
| 1 or 2 | 36.0 | 18.4 | 39.3 | 46.2 | 33.3 | |
| 3 or more | 22.7 | 26.3 | 25.0 | 23.1 | 26.7 | |
| Readiness to quit at initial screening§ | ||||||
| Next 30 days | 40.4 | 54.5 | 70.4 | 84.6 | 57.1 | 0.12 |
| Next 6 months | 59.6 | 45.5 | 29.6 | 15.4 | 42.9 | |
| Other smoker in the home | 45.3 | 51.3 | 46.4 | 53.8 | 40.0 | 0.35 |
| Medication coverage | ||||||
| Yes | 18.2 | 15.9 | 32.1 | 38.5 | 26.7 | 0.62 |
| No | 49.4 | 45.4 | 32.1 | 23.1 | 40.0 | |
| Don't know | 32.4 | 38.7 | 35.7 | 38.5 | 33.3 | |
| HADS score¶ | ||||||
| Anxiety, mean (SD) | – | – | 7.0 (3.8) | 6.8 (3.8) | 7.1 (3.9) | 0.88 |
| Depression, mean (SD) | – | – | 5.1 (4.1) | 5.5 (2.8) | 4.7 (4.9) | 0.64 |
| Reasons for quitting | ||||||
| Health reasons | 81.9 | 77.8 | 93.1 | 92.3 | 93.8 | 0.88 |
| Family | 20.6 | 16.7 | 34.5 | 38.5 | 31.3 | 0.68 |
| Financial | 20.5 | 19.4 | 20.7 | 23.1 | 18.8 | 0.78 |
| Social | 11.9 | 11.4 | 13.8 | 15.4 | 12.5 | 0.82 |
| Concerns about quitting | ||||||
| Stress | 53.3 | 43.2 | 62.1 | 46.2 | 75.0 | 0.11 |
| Withdrawal | 35.3 | 38.6 | 48.3 | 53.8 | 43.8 | 0.59 |
| Weight | 29.4 | 25.0 | 37.9 | 38.5 | 37.5 | 0.96 |
| Boredom | 18.2 | 13.6 | 24.1 | 23.1 | 25.0 | 0.90 |
| Social | 9.6 | 9.1 | 3.4 | 0.0 | 6.3 | 0.36 |
↵* Comparisons are based on the Pearson χ2 test for categorical variables and Student t test for continuous variables between intervention groups.
↵† On a scale of 1–10, how confident are you that you would be able to quit smoking at this time? (1=not at all confident, 10=extremely confident).
↵‡ On a scale of 1–10, how important is it to you to quit smoking at this time? (1=not important at all, 10=extremely important).
↵§ Response provided on the waiting room screening form to the question: ‘Which of the following best describes your feelings about smoking right now?’ Patients' readiness to quit was reassessed following strong personalised advice from the neurologists to quit.
↵¶ HADS scores: 0–7=normal; 8–10=borderline abnormal; 11–21=abnormal.29
CF, cost-free pharmacotherapy; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; PO, prescription only.