One-Month Smoking Cessation More Effective

Smoking cessation interventions like counseling, telephone support and self-help materials work, but the most effective programs last a month, a review found.

Review leader Jurgen Barth of the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at Bern University in Switzerland analyzed 16 randomized controlled studies of psychosocial quit-smoking interventions for patients with coronary heart disease.

Many of the study participants had experienced a heart attack or an invasive treatment such as bypass surgery or angioplasty, Barth said.

The review, published in The Cochrane Library, found smoking cessation interventions with more than one-month duration were effective, but brief interventions without some follow-up contact were not effective. However, the review authors said they were unable to determine the minimum number of contacts needed.

The review also said after a cardiac event about 30 percent to 50 percent of smokers with coronary heart disease quit smoking without professional help, but psychosocial interventions are able to increase the rate. .