Maintenance of smoking cessation in Korean single mothers

Background Single mothers in South Korea are vulnerable to developing smoking habits, due to many difficulties and limitations; however, they have often been overlooked by smoking cessation support services. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the general and smoking-related characteristics of single mothers registered with the Visiting a Smoking Cessation Service in Seoul, South Korea, to identify factors associated with smoking cessation maintenance at 4 weeks and 24 weeks after they initially quit smoking. Methods The participants were 77 single mothers registered in the Smoking Cessation Service Program. Data were included from a three-year span (January 2017–December 2019). Smoking cessation counseling, motivational enhancement, and self-exploration counseling were provided for six months. The participants were evaluated on their smoking cessation status at 4 weeks and 24 weeks. Results Most participants were aged 22 years or younger. The rates of smoking cessation maintenance were 58.4 and 18% at 4 weeks and 24 weeks, respectively. The higher the number of counseling sessions, the higher the participants’ chances of maintaining smoking in all non-smoking periods, and whether pregnancy, CO level, and drinking were significant only in a short-term non-smoking period (4 weeks). Conclusions Our results suggest that the number of smoking cessation counseling sessions is important for long-term smoking cessation beyond short-term cessation in single mothers. To increase the smoking cessation rate of single mothers, it is important to conduct customized smoking cessation counseling at the time of smoking cessation and continue such counseling in the long term.

Cost Analysis of Community-Based Smoking Cessation Services in Vietnam: A Cluster-Randomized Trial

The study aimed to estimate the cost for developing and implementing 2 smoking cessation service delivery models that were evaluated in a 2-arm cluster randomized trial in Commune Health Centers (CHCs) in Vietnam. In the first model (4As) CHC providers were trained to ask about tobacco use, advise smokers to quit, assess readiness to quit, and assist with brief counseling. The second model included the 4As plus a referral to Village Health Workers (VHWs) who were trained to provide multisession home-based counseling (4As + R). An activity-based ingredients (ABC-I) costing approach with a healthcare provider perspective was applied to collect the costs for each intervention model. Opportunity costs were excluded. Costs during preparation and implementation phase were estimated. Sensitivity analysis of the cost per smoker with the included intervention’ activities were conducted. The cost per facility-based counseling session ranged from USD 9 to USD 11. Cost per home-based counseling session at 4As + R model was USD 4. The non-delivery cost attributed to supportive activities (eg, Monitoring, Logistic, Research, General training) was USD 107 per counseling session. Cost per smoker ranged from USD 6 to USD 451. The study analyzed and compared cost of implementing and scaling community-based smoking cessation service models in Vietnam.

Predictors of Abstinence from Smoking: A Retrospective Study of Male College Students Enrolled in a Smoking Cessation Service

There were high smoking rates among young male college students in Korea. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of and factors affecting abstinence from smoking following smoking cessation service attendance in this population. Data were collected between 1 August 2015 and 20 August 2018. Participants were administered more than nine face-to-face and telephone counseling sessions by trained tobacco cessation specialists for six months. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 4, 6, and 12 weeks, and 6 months after the quit date. A total of 3978 male college student smokers were enrolled; their mean age was 23.17 (±3.45) years. Almost one-third of the participants (64.9%) reported that they had attempted to quit during the past year. The number of cigarettes smoked per day, CO ppm, and Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence score at the baseline were negatively associated with abstinence, while motivational variables—importance, confidence, and readiness—were positively associated with abstinence. Our results suggest that provision of visiting smoking cessation services can be an active intervention platform for college student smokers who need professional assistance or support. Active and accessible support should be provided to such people. Visiting a smoking cessation service may result in increased long-term abstinence rates in such students.