Giving Compass' Take:

• Staying Free is a top tier social program that reduces smoking for a low cost, providing benefits to participants and taxpayers.

• How can philanthropy effectively support a reduction in smoking? What other tactics have proven effective?

• Learn more about how funders can make an impact on tobacco use. 

Staying Free is a smoking cessation program for hospitalized smokers who (i) are willing to make a quit attempt during hospitalization; and (ii) do not have a medical history of substance abuse or psychiatric disorders, and are not pregnant, medically unstable, or cognitively disabled.

Participants first receive a one-minute scripted smoking cessation message from their physician, followed by:

An intensive counseling session provided at bedside by a nurse case-manager specially trained in smoking cessation (approximately 30-60 minutes); and

Four to seven telephone counseling sessions – each 5-10 minutes long – provided by the nurse at periodic intervals between 2 and 90 days after discharge.

The bedside session includes (i) education on hazards of smoking personalized to the patient’s condition, benefits of quitting, the withdrawal process, and importance of social support; (ii) take-home materials (video, workbook, relaxation tape); and (iii) counseling. The counseling focuses on relapse-prevention – specifically, identifying high-risk situations for smoking relapse and working with the nurse to develop behavioral, cognitive, and social support strategies to remain smoke-free in such situations. The post-discharge phone sessions also focus on relapse prevention. Pharmacotherapy (e.g., nicotine replacement therapy) is provided on an as-needed basis.

The results are a 30% increase in likelihood of confirmed abstinence from smoking approximately one year after patients’ discharge from the hospital.

The program’s cost is $114-$228 per patient (2017 dollars).

Read the full article about Staying Free at Social Programs That Work.