Intensive in-hospital support doubles likelihood of smoking cessation in heart patients

Patients admitted to hospital with coronary artery disease are twice as likely to quit smoking after receiving intensive smoking cessation support compared to minimal support, found a new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The study, a randomised clinical trial, compared intensive intervention with minimal intervention and found that patients admitted for open heart surgery (coronary artery bypass grafts) had significantly higher long-term abstinence rates at 1 year compared with those admitted for heart attacks (acute myocardial infarctions.) Other factors that contributed to successful long-term smoking cessation included absence of a previous heart attack, postsecondary education and at least some smoking restrictions at home. The intervention used in the study resulted in the highest rates of 1-year confirmed smoking cessation in previous tests in the US. - Science Centric