Preliminary findings from a clinical demonstration project for veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan.
Military veterans are at high risk for nicotine dependence. This clinical demonstration project used invitational letters, referral to the National Cancer Institute's Smoking Quitline, and local Veteran Affairs prescriptions for tobacco cessation to evaluate whether this low-cost method would potentially reduce smoking in separated veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Three cohorts (500 each) of recently separated veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq were contacted by survey letters. Interested veterans received follow-up telephone calls using standardized scripts. They were referred to the National Cancer Institute's Smoking Quitline (1-877-44U-QUIT) and offered local Veteran Affairs pharmacologic treatment for smoking cessation. Forty-three percent of respondents who were smokers were interested in the clinical program; of these, 77% participated. At 2 months follow-up, 38% of participants self-reported maintained smoking abstinence. Results suggested that the intervention was feasible and assisted the small number of veterans who participated.
Beckham
Jean C
JC
Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center, 508 Fulton Street, 116B, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
Becker
Mary E
ME
Hamlett-Berry
Kim W
KW
Drury
Pamela D
PD
Kang
Han K
HK
Wiley
Matthew T
MT
Calhoun
Patrick S
PS
Moore
Scott D
SD
Bright
Mary Anne
MA
McFall
Miles E
ME
D000328:Adult; D000346:Afghanistan; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D015277:Hotlines; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D054547:National Cancer Institute (U.S.); D009538:Nicotine; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans
D009538:Nicotine