Effectiveness of the Anti-smoking Clinic Network in the Talcahuano Public Health Service (2002 – 2004)

Abstract

The anti-smoking clinic network is created with the aim of providing support to patients and staff of the Health Service establishments Talcahuano, owing to the need for specialized care in attempting smoking cessation, as evidenced on the occasion of the Competition "Chile 2000 Quit and Win".

Objective: To measure the effectiveness of anti-smoking clinic at the health service network of Talcahuano between June 2002 and May 2004.

Material and Method: Descriptive study of patients admitted to anti-smoking treatment clinic networking between June 2002 and May 2004. Of the total of 325 patients attended, were considered in the analysis patients who met the inclusion criteria (age ≥18 years, smoker and have motivation to try to quit smoking and need help in smoking cessation process).

Results: Of the 191 patients, 44.5% remained abstinent from smoking for more than three months, the abstinence of 29.3% over 6 months and 14.1% abstinent for more than 1 year. 35.6% of patients experienced relapse during the treatment period.