7.17 Combined interventions
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Quit rates are highest when NRT or other approved pharmacotherapy is combined with more intensive behavioural support, such as the Quitline callback program, group courses or counselling with other trained health professionals.4, 6, 240, 263 As a general rule, the more intensive the intervention, the better the outcomes, with long-term quit rates reaching as high as 15% to 20% compared to the 3% to 5% success rates for unassisted quitting.4, 5, 182 Several trials have examined the impact of promoting free or heavily subsidised NRT through telephone counselling services. Overall, they found that such programs increased the number of callers to the quitlines, in some cases quite dramatically, and most found that access to free NRT improved long-term quit rates.302–311 One US study also reported that the majority of recipients of their program were from disadvantaged groups, such as people who were non-white, foreign-born or living in low-income neighbourhoods.312
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