Smoking Cessation Program in Outpatient Clinics of Family Medicine Department in Taiwan: A Longitudinal Evaluation

The Government of Taiwan has imposed a tobacco health tax of NT$5 (US$0.14) per pack of cigarettes since January 2002. The Department of Health has now begun to fund a smoking cessation program that provides nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) and brief counseling by physicians in outpatient clinics. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the smoking cessation program with a 3-year follow-up review implemented at outpatient clinics, which were run by the Family Medicine Department in a medical center, with a total of 772 adult participants. The abstinence rates were 99.7%, 49.2%, 37.7%, 30.2%, and 22.7%, at the 1-, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 36-month points, respectively. The frequency of clinic visits is a major factor predicting long-term cessation. The results indicate the need to pursue implementation and evaluation of multidisciplinary interventions in smoking cessation clinics with a longer follow-up, including the promotion of compliance to increase clinic visits and prevent relapse.