The report of evaluation of first ‘quitline’ in Iran during 2007 
Anahita Alvanpour, Researcher and smoking cessation consultant, Tobacco Prevention and Control Research Center (TPCRC), Tehran, Iran and Hooman Sharifi, Researcher and smoking cessation consultant, Tobacco Prevention and Control Research Center (TPCRC), Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Introduction:

There are about 10 million smokers in Iran and smoking related deaths are about 70,000 annually, and like other countries there are different methods to quit smoking in our country. Prominent recent development in tobacco control is the worldwide proliferation of telephone based tobacco cessation programs, commonly referred to as quitlines. 

Aims and objectives:

This study has been done for the first time in Iran. Since we didn’t have quitline service in our country, we decided to establish it.

Methods:

This service was including a phone line and a smoking cessation trained counselor. At the beginning, we gave several announcements on November 2006, via smoking cessation clinic operator. Our service was based on FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVICE pattern. The volunteers wanted to participate in this quitline program; or they just wanted to get some general information about smoking cessation. The smoking cessation program was consisting of 5 sessions with 1-week interval and our questionnaires were based on WHO and IUATLD questionnaires. Their nicotine dependency rate was evaluated by Fagerström test. According to the self-report of the cases, they were not smoking since the third session, then this claim confirmed by testing the expiratory carbon-monoxide rate (piCO).

Results: 

In this study, 307 subjects made contact. 80% were male. The mean age was 38.54 years. 71% of participants were married. 72.7% of subjects were educated. 50% of cases had high nicotine dependency (Fagerström test above 6). The mean of whole duration of consulting for each one was 24.50 minutes. 81 out of 307 subjects were entered in our cessation programs and 69 cases (85.2%) had successful cessation. The abstinence rates on the six and twelve months after quit day were respectively 21% and 12.3%. 

Conclusions:

It seems that this method is an appropriate and accessible method which can be used in smoking cessation.