Factors influencing success in counseling patients to stop smoking

This study examined the anti-smoking counseling practices of a group of family practice physicians and related these to success in persuading patients to stop smoking. The study population included 283 cigarette smoking patients of 28 family practice residents. Patients were followed over a 3-month period to assess changes in smoking behavior. Two measures of success in counseling patients to stop smoking were evaluated in the study: (1) the percentage of a physician's patients who tried to quit smoking, and (2) the percentage of a physician's patients who succeeded in quitting. Findings showed wide variation among physicians in the percentage of patients who tried to quit (range: 20%-77%) and the percentage of patients who succeeded in quitting (range: 0%-25%). Two counseling practices, advising patients to set a target date for quitting and scheduling follow-up visits with patients to monitor progress, were related to the percentage of a physician's patients who quit smoking. These two counseling practices represent a way of structuring the patients quitting effort and committing the patient to follow through with a decision to stop smoking, both of which appear to be key ingredients to success in counseling patients to stop smoking.