Smoking Cessation Research Continues

Since the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health was unveiled nearly 40 years ago, tobacco has been the basis for an expanding arena of research throughout the world.

The report, which led to warning labels on cigarette packaging, was the first major acknowledgement that cigarette smoking is a cause of cancer and other serious diseases.

Over the years, scientists studying tobacco-related cancers have turned their research focus toward smoking cessation programs to understand why people start smoking, why they keep smoking, and how they can be helped to quit smoking. M.D. Anderson's contribution to the worldwide body of knowledge includes local smoking cessation studies targeted at a variety of specialized groups.

"Tobacco cessation is no longer a one-size-fits-all approach," says Paul Cinciripini, Ph.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Behavioral Science. "Pregnant women, teens, Spanish-speaking individuals and college students are among the population groups participating in current tobacco research."

Below are descriptions of the latest M. D. Anderson smoking cessation studies.

New mothers

Many women stop smoking during pregnancy, but relapse rates for postpartum women are high. About 80% of women resume smoking by the time the baby reaches his or her first birthday.

The aim of another M. D. Anderson study is to develop and evaluate a treatment to reduce postpartum relapse rates for women who quit during pregnancy by increasing commitment and motivation to remain a nonsmoking mother. This program includes telephone-based counseling sessions.

Counseling sessions address:

• Mood changes
• Stress
• Social support
• Weight concerns

Spanish-speaking smokers

Adis al Fumar! (Goodbye to Smoking) is a project to increase the reach and effectiveness of smoking cessation services offered in Spanish by the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Cancer Information Service (1-800-4-CANCER).

More than 200 participants have enrolled in Adis al Fumar! since the program began last year.

The project has two components:

Advertising -One component involves using various media approaches (print and broadcast advertising in Spanish-language media, targeted direct mailing) to reach Spanish-speaking smokers in Houston, San Antonio and El Paso.

Counseling- The other component includes a follow-up telephone counseling program.

College students

Project SUCCESS uses motivational interviewing and health information to help students at the University of Houston central campus quit smoking. The study measures an individual's respiratory symptoms, lung function and carbon monoxide level.

Cessation methods include:

• Nicotine replacement therapy
• Face-to-face and web-based counseling sessions

Participant criteria:

• University of Houston central campus student
• Age 18-35
• Smoke at least one cigarette per day
• Must commit to these counseling sessions:
• • Two individual, one-on-one sessions
  • Five Internet-based sessions

High school students

Project ASPIRE is a computer-based interactive, multimedia smoking cessation program to help students from 16 predominantly urban, minority high schools in the Houston-area stop smoking.

Researchers are assessing several components, including:

• How much individual students smoke
• Whether they are thinking about quitting smoking
• Level of nicotine dependence
• Withdrawal
• Level of depression

A web-based version of the CD-ROM is scheduled to be available in the coming months for eighth- through 12th-grade students in the 16 identified high schools.

National Lung Screening Trial (NLST)

M. D. Anderson is also among 30 sites across the United States recruiting 50,000 smokers to participate in the largest lung cancer screening study ever conducted, the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST). The study, which involves current and former smokers, was created to determine whether spiral computed tomography scan or chest X-ray is better at detecting lung cancer.

For more information, please contact the M. D. Anderson Information Line at 1-800-392-1611, option 3.