Approximately 2 million Ontarians are current smokers. While smoking rates have declined over
the past 25 years, these rates have remained constant since 2002. The rate of smoking
cessation in Ontario has not kept up with the rest of Canada. A new strategy is necessary to
increase the number of smokers making quit attempts and to increase the odds of quitting over
the long term.
The overall goal of the Stop Smoking Therapy for Ontario Patients (STOP) Study is to evaluate
the methods and effectiveness of providing nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to Ontario
smokers. The study will develop an evidence-based protocol for providing NRT, provide faculty
development on combining pharmacotherapy with behavioural interventions and will provide an
evaluation framework to inform future coverage models.
The goal for this phase of the STOP study is to provide faculty development on combining
pharmacotherapy with behavioural interventions. This will be achieved by partnering with
Public Health Units across Ontario who have established smoking cessation clinics but do not
have the finances in place to offer NRT to their clients at a subsidized rate or free of
charge. Cost has been shown to be a significant barrier to the access and use of NRT in
individuals trying to quit smoking. However, combining pharmacotherapy with behavioural
interventions may be more effective than either alone. Therefore, we hypothesize that
providing NRT free of charge to clients enrolled in a smoking cessation clinic will be more
effective for smoking cessation than behavioural interventions alone.
Phase:
N/A
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Collaborators:
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care Pfizer