A study published in the American
Journal of Health Behavior compared
quit rates between male snuff users who received the telephone counseling
and those who only received a self-help manual on giving up smokeless tobacco.
Men who received the phone calls were significantly more likely three
and six months later to say that they had given up tobacco, according to
Raymond Boyle, Ph.D., M.P.H., and colleagues at HealthPartners Research
Foundation.
Six months after the study, 40 percent of those who received the calls
had quit using snuff, compared to 25 percent of those who received the
manual only.
“This is an important finding as it demonstrates that adult male
moist snuff users are willing to quit and can be engaged when the telephone
is the intervention vehicle,” Boyle says.
Unlike some previous studies, which suggest that older snuff users and
those who are less dependent on tobacco are most likely to quit, the telephone
intervention appeared to work across all age groups and for heavy users,
the researchers found.
The study included 221 men ages 18 and older who had used moist snuff
or chewing tobacco for at least six months and who were not smoking cigarettes,
cigars or pipes. The 221 men were then randomly assigned to receive either
the phone or manual-only counseling.
Boyle and colleagues say their study suggests that smokeless tobacco counseling
should be added to state-funded smoking quit lines.
“With appropriate staff training, users of moist snuff products
can be assisted through telephone quit lines, particularly in regions with
higher prevalence of use,” the researchers say.
The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute.
