Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a brief smoking cessation intervention for women 15 to 35 years of age attending Planned Parenthood clinics.
Methods: Female smokers (n = 1154) were randomly assigned either to advice only or to a brief intervention that involved a 9-minute video, 12 to 15 minutes of behavioral counseling, clinician advice to quit, and follow-up telephone calls.
Results: Seventy-six percent of those eligible participated. Results revealed a clear, short-term intervention effect at the 6-week follow-up (7-day self-reported abstinence: 10.2% vs 6.9% for advice only, P < .05) and a more ambiguous effect at 6 months (30-day biochemically validated abstinence: 6.4% vs 3.8%, NS).
Conclusions: This brief, clinic-based intervention appears to be effective in reaching and enhancing cessation among female smokers, a traditionally underserved population.