Factors correlated with success rate of outpatient smoking cessation services in Taiwan

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. The purpose of this study was to explore the patient’s and physician’s factors that are correlated with smoking cessation success rate. A total of 877 smokers who visited the outpatient smoking cessation services at a medical center in Northern Taiwan were recruited for the study. Phone interviews were carried out six months after the initial visit to evaluate the success rate of smoking cessation. The result showed that the abstinence rate at six-month was 37.7%. By the multivariate logistic regression model, the predictive factors of abstinence were smokers who had a lower Fagerström test for cigarette dependence (FTCD), lower exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) concentration, or who smoked less than 20 cigarettes per day at the first visit. Smokers who had more than one smoking cessation outpatient visit or seen by physicians who, on average, delivered more than one smoking cessation consultations per week also led to a higher success rate. Therefore, we suggest that physicians should put more efforts and encourage follow-up visits for some smokers by knowing their characteristics at the first visit. Furthermore, physicians with more experience in smoking cessation consultation seemed to be more likely to help patients to quit smoking successfully.