title: Individual behavioural counselling for smoking cessation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Individual counselling from a smoking cessation specialist may help smokers to make a successful attempt to stop smoking.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the review is to determine the effects of individual counselling.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group trials register for studies with counsel* in any field. Date of the most recent search: October 1998.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomised or quasi-randomised trials with at least one treatment arm consisting of face to face individual counselling from a health care worker not involved in routine clinical care. The outcome was smoking cessation at follow-up at least six months after the start of counselling.
  
  
  METHODS
  Both reviewers extracted data. The intervention and population, method of randomisation and completeness of follow-up were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified eleven trials. Ten compared individual counselling to a minimal intervention, two compared two intensities of counselling, and one compared individual counselling to group therapy. Individual counselling was more effective than control. The odds ratio for successful smoking cessation was 1.55 (95% confidence interval 1.27 to 1.90). There was no evidence that more intensive counselling was more effective than brief counselling (odds ratio 1.17, 95% confidence interval 0.59 to 2.34). There was no evidence of a difference in effect between individual counselling and group therapy (odds ratio 1.33, 95% confidence interval 0.83 to 2.13).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Smoking cessation counselling can assist smokers to quit.
authors.affiliation: ICRF General Practice Research Group, Division of Public Health and Primary Health Care, Institute of Health Sciences, Old Road, Headington, Oxford, UK, OX3 7LF. tim.lancaster@dphpc.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lancaster
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Stead
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy; D003376:Counseling; D006801:Humans; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention