American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Volume 31, Issue 2 , Pages 181-184, August 2006

Free Nicotine Patch Giveaway Program:

12-Month Follow-up of Participants

  • K. Michael Cummings, PhD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence and reprint requests to: K. Michael Cummings, PhD, MPH, Chairman, Department of Health Behavior, Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo NY 14263.
    • ,
  • Andrew Hyland, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA
    • ,
  • Brian Fix, MA

      Affiliations

    • Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA
    • ,
  • Ursula Bauer, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Tobacco Control Program, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, USA
    • ,
  • Paula Celestino, BS

      Affiliations

    • New York State Smokers’ Quitline, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA
    • ,
  • Shannon Carlin-Menter, EdM, MA

      Affiliations

    • New York State Smokers’ Quitline, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA
    • ,
  • Nancy Miller, PhD, CHES

      Affiliations

    • New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, New York, USA
    • ,
  • Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, New York, USA

published online 15 June 2006.

Objective

To estimate the effectiveness of a free nicotine patch giveaway program offered to New York City (NYC) smokers conducted in 2003.

Methodology

The effectiveness of the program was assessed by contrasting the 12-month quit rate of program participants with the quit rate from a group of Quitline callers who were not offered free nicotine patches. The follow-up surveys were conducted in 2004 and the analysis in 2005.

Results

The 7-day nonsmoking prevalence rate measured at 12 months among callers who received the nicotine patches was 1.78 times higher (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.19–2.66) than the quit rate among a comparable group of callers to the Quitline from NYC a year earlier who did not receive nicotine patches.

Conclusions

The provision of free nicotine patches through a telephone quitline was effective in inducing a large number of smokers to make a quit attempt and stop smoking, above and beyond the efficacy of the quitline support alone.

 

PII: S0749-3797(06)00166-8

doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2006.03.027

American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Volume 31, Issue 2 , Pages 181-184, August 2006