Abstract:
Objective. Smoking prevalence is highest among the young adult cohort. Postsecondary
students are no exception. Although many students intend to quit smoking, no
research has established what methods best promote reductions in, or complete
abstinence from smoking. This randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of
three self-help smoking cessation interventions.
Method. On six post-secondary campuses, 483 smokers who voluntarily accessed
Leave The Pack Behind (a tobacco control initiative) were randomly assigned to one of
three smoking cessation interventions: One Step At A Time (a 2-booklet, *gold standard'
program for adults); Smoke|Quit (a newly-developed 2-booklet program for young adult
students); and usual care (a 'Quit Kit' containing a booklet on stress management,
information about pharmacological quitting aides and novelty items). All participants
also received one proactive telephone support call from a peer counsellor.
During the study, 85 participants withdrew. The final sample of 216 students who
completed baseline questionnaires and 12-week follow-up telephone interviews was
representative of the initial sample in terms of demographic characteristics, and smokingquitting-
related variables.
Results. Whether participants quit smoking depended upon treatment condition,
^(2, N=2\6) = 6.34, p = .04, with Smoke|Quit producing more successfijl quitters
(18.4%) than One Step At A Time (4.5%) or the Quit Kit (1 1.4%). On average,
participants had quit 53.46 days, with no significant difference across treatments. Selfefficacy
also increased. Use of the intervention or other quitting aides was not associated
with treatment condition.
Among the 191 participants who did not quit smoking, treatment condition did
not influence outcomes. Overall, 46.2% had made a quit attempt. Significant decreases in
weekly tobacco consumption and increases in self-efficacy to resist smoking were
observed from baseline to follow-up.
Conclusion. Post-secondary institutions represent a potentially final opportunity
for age-targeted interventions. Self-help resources tailored to students' social and
contextual characteristics will have considerable more impact than stage-only tailored
interventions. Both reduction and abstinence outcomes should be emphasized to
positively support students to stop smoking.
