The quit rate among smokers with chronic illnesses who have received smoking cessation counseling from the Thailand National Quitline

Abstract

Smoking is a global health problem. It is a leading cause of death, and chronic illness. Smokers with
chronic illnesses have a higher risk of recurrence or death than those who have never smoked. This study
aimed to determine the continuous abstinence rate (CAR) at one, three, and six month(s), the quit attempt
rate at seven days, and the motivation to quit of patients with chronic illnesses after they received smoking
cessation counseling from the Thailand National Quitline (TNQ). Secondary data sources from a study of
the effectiveness of the TNQ were used in this study.
The subjects were 91 smokers, the top five chronic illnesses were allergic rhinitis (15.4%), hypertention
(14.3%), asthma (9.9%), peptic ulcer (9.9%), and diabetes mellitus (6.6%). Thirty-six (39.6%) smokers
continued to abstain from smoking continuously for one month, while 25 participants (27.5%), and 22
participants (24.2%) continued to refrain from smoking for three and six months, respectively. Furthermore,
37 participants (40.7%) abstained from smoking continuously for seven days, but 54 participants (59.3%) did
not abstain from smoking. Most participants who succeeded in quitting were motivated to quit by themselves
(70.3%).
In conclusion, the TNQ provides effective counseling to help people stop smoking. However, half of
those who received counseling were unsuccessful in quitting. Many factors may have influenced the failure
rate. So, health care professionals need to provide effective smoking cessation intervention and continuous
monitoring.