People Trainined in Smoking Cessation Strategies Can Help Smokers Quit the Habit

A study reveals that a short training session on smoking cessation can help people motivate smokers to quit smoking.

The study documented in the journal of Health Behavior reveals that training people on smoking cessation, even those without a medical background, can motivate smokers to put an end to their unhealthy habit.

"People are concerned about their own health and their loved ones' health," says lead study author Myra Muramoto, M.D. of the University of Arizona Department of Family and Community Medicine. "They might want to help a loved one quit tobacco, but a lot of times they don't know what to do."

The researchers have designed a Web-based training capsule as well as an in-person training program for people who want to help others quit smoking. Both the training programs, apart from focusing on the facts of tobacco use, deal with how to effectively spread the message about the importance of quitting tobacco. For this the researchers lay a lot of emphasis on communication strategies as well as building empathy. 

For the study, researchers conducted a study on 898 people from the general public. They were selected in order to test the effectiveness of the program in helping people to quit smoking.

These participants were enrolled either in the Web-based training program, in- person training program or a group that received materials on smoking cessation via emails.

The researchers noticed that over 80 percent of the participants in each group claimed to have discussed smoking cessation with people who used tobacco in the previous three months, 70 percent of them had done the same in the previous month and the same was followed by people who received emails.

"This was really a surprise to us," Muramoto says. "We didn't expect that people who got pamphlets in the mail would really do anything. That speaks to their level of motivation to help loved ones quit tobacco."

But it was seen that those who were in the Web-based or in-person training were more confident about discussing the program with others than those who received emails.

The study highlights that even people without any medical background can be trained to deliver smoking cessation messages. With a brief training, people can improve their knowledge on tobacco cessation.