Targeting Nonsmokers to Help Smokers Quit: Features of a Large-scale Intervention

Smoking continues to be a major public health problem, despite a substantial decline in prevalence rates over the last decades. Quit smoking interventions typically target smokers, whether through individual or group treatment or through broader public health campaigns. Yet, nonsmokers represent a v...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gary J Tedeschi (Author), Leslie S Zoref (Author), Sharon E Cummins (Author), Shu-Hong Zhu (Author)
Format: Book
Published: SAGE Publishing, 2020-07-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:Smoking continues to be a major public health problem, despite a substantial decline in prevalence rates over the last decades. Quit smoking interventions typically target smokers, whether through individual or group treatment or through broader public health campaigns. Yet, nonsmokers represent a vast and largely untapped resource to help smokers quit. This article describes an innovative approach that targeted nonsmokers through a media-style campaign with repeated reminders about smoking cessation. We tested the nonsmoker intervention in a large randomized trial and showed it to be effective in helping smokers quit. Components of the intervention included repeated mailings with relevant cessation messages over a 10-week period, 2 brief check-in telephone calls, and access to a study Web site. In this article, we discuss details of the intervention development, content, and implementation.
Item Description:1179-173X
10.1177/1179173X20943565