Enhancing employer coverage of smoking cessation treatment: A randomized trial of the Partners in Helping You Quit (PiHQ) program

Effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions in the workplace: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

Workplaces are suitable areas for smoking cessation programs and incentives. This study was carried out to determine the effectiveness of interventions in the workplace for smoking cessation in working individuals.

METHODS

All studies published in English between 2013 and 2022 were searched in Pub Med, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL databases. Meta-analysis was based on PRISMA 2020. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO. A random effects model was applied to the meta-analysis processes, and Hedges' g was used to calculate the effect size.

RESULTS

Of the included studies, 11 were randomized controlled trials, and 8 were cluster randomized controlled trials. In different working sectors, various interventions such as motivational/individual interviews, group counseling, telephone coaching, web-based training, mindfulness meditation, and financial interventions were implemented. These interventions were carried out alone or in combination with one or more other interventions. The interventions generally have short-term effects, and financial incentives or supports were the factors that positively motivate the interventions. The joint effect size of attempts to quit smoking in the workplace (Hedges' g) was 1.171. Heterogeneity between studies was significant (Q = 199.762, p = 0.015, I2 = 80.477%). No publication bias was detected.

CONCLUSIONS

We determined that smoking cessation interventions applied in the workplace have a large effect. We recommend that the long-term effects of increasing effectiveness of these interventions be considered and planned in line with the needs of working groups.

Workplace cessation support is associated with more abstinence in a workplace program in Hong Kong: A mixed-methods study

INTRODUCTION

We examined the association of workplace smoking cessation (SC) support from employers, in addition to SC interventions, and smoking abstinence.

METHODS

Smoking employees (≥1 cigarette daily, aged ≥18 years) from companies of various industries joined a workplace SC program in Hong Kong. Self-reported past 7-day point prevalence abstinence was measured at follow-up at 6 months. We assessed 14 types of workplace SC support with higher scores (range: 0-14) indicating greater support. Multivariable logistic regression examined the prospective association between workplace SC support and smoking abstinence, adjusting for intention to quit, nicotine dependence, self-efficacy of quitting, and sociodemographic characteristics. Average marginal effects were calculated to test if the association between overall workplace SC support and self-reported past 7-day PPA at follow-up at 6 months was modified by subgroups. We also interviewed employers from different companies to explore their perspectives of providing workplace SC support, and the data were analyzed by thematic analysis.

RESULTS

In 383 participants who received a heath talk, a self-help SC booklet, and 15 text messages, greater workplace SC support was associated with smoking abstinence (AOR=1.32; 95% CI: 1.08-1.61), including support for smoke-free environment (AOR=1.51; 95% CI: 1.08-2.11) and for SC attempts/actions (AOR=1.93; 95% CI: 1.21-3.07). The association did not differ by sex, age, intention to quit, nicotine dependence, company size or company type. Qualitative interviews found that employers provided workplace SC support to establish a good company image, cost-benefit considerations were important to the types of workplace SC support provided, and lack of SC knowledge was a barrier to providing workplace SC support.

CONCLUSIONS

Greater workplace SC support was associated with more abstinence in a workplace SC program.

Behavior change, health, and health disparities 2020: Some current challenges in tobacco control and regulatory science

This Special Issue of Preventive Medicine (PM) is the 7th in a series on behavior change, health, and health disparities. This series focuses on personal behavior patterns, including substance use disorders, physical inactivity/obesity, and non-adherence with medical regimens, which are among the most important modifiable causes of chronic disease and premature death. This 7th issue includes 17 commentaries, reviews, and original empirical studies, 16 of which are devoted to current tobacco control and regulatory science research and policy, topics critically important to protecting the public health from the longstanding and devastating harms of tobacco use. The challenge of balancing efforts to protect youth from e-cigarettes while allowing for evidence-based evaluation of their potential to reduce the harms of cigarette smoking among adults features prominently in many of these contributions, complemented by original studies on rural-urban disparities, tobacco harm perceptions, use patterns and toxin exposure, modeling of tobacco-related mortality, novel tobacco research methods, and reducing cigarette smoking through regulatory policies, including nicotine reduction in cigarettes, and novel clinical interventions. Continuing to give space in this series to the U.S. opioid epidemic, we also include an original empirical report on longitudinal trends of non-medical use of opioids from 2008 to 2020 in rural Appalachia, an epicenter in this epidemic. Across each of these topics we have recruited contributions from well-regarded investigators, clinicians, and policymakers to acquaint readers with recent advances and accomplishments while also noting knowledge gaps and unresolved challenges.