Pharmacist-led cessation programmes effective

Smoking cessation programmes led and administered by community pharmacists appear to be effective, leading to high quitting and abstinence rates, a recent study has found. In contrast, the PharmQuit intervention, a mobile cessation assistance app, does not seem to be significantly better than standard quitting services.

The study included 156 adult smokers who were randomly assigned to receive the PharmQuit app intervention (n=78) or to the control group (n=78). Both arms were given the usual smoking cessation services, pharmacotherapy, and counselling from community pharmacists. The trial lasted for 6 months, after which the primary outcome of 180-day continuous abstinence rate (CAR) was assessed.

At the end of the study, 25 participants in the intervention group and 27 in the control group had stopped smoking. The respective 180-day CAR was 11.5 percent and 12.8 percent, and the difference failed to reach significance. Most participants who had initially quit smoking during the study but eventually returned to the habit were unable to stop by day 180.

The secondary study outcome was the 7-day point abstinence rate, which likewise did not differ between treatment groups.

Of note, the number of cigarettes smoked per day dropped significantly by day 180 when compared to days 0, 7, 14, 30, 60, and 120 in the intervention group, and days 0, 7, 14, and 30 in the control group (p<0.05 for all). Exhaled carbon monoxide also significantly improved from day 0 to day 180 in both groups.

“Although there were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups, participants in both groups showed improvement in abstinence rate, number of cigarettes smoked per day, exhaled carbon monoxide, and adherence to the cessation program,” the researchers said.