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Inpatient smoking cessation therapy: truth or dare?

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Summary

Background

This study aims to answer the question to which extent even very heavy nicotine-dependent smokers can benefit from a 3-week inpatient smoking cessation program. A particular focus lies on analyzing the positive effects, which go above and beyond normally anticipated health benefits.

Methods

This is a descriptive study observing 270 patients over a 1-year period consisting of recruitment, therapy, and two post-therapy follow-up visits at 6-month interval. Gender differences, changes in body weight, and factors relating to addiction and the nicotine withdrawal process are analyzed. In comparing successful participants—post-therapy nonsmokers—with less successful ones, our analysis identifies benefits and advantages an inpatient smoking cessation therapy can bring to even the heaviest smokers.

Results

At the 12-month post-therapy follow-up visit, 42.6 % of participants were identified as nonsmokers. A total of 34.0 % of participants took up smoking again. No data is available on the remaining participants. Nonsmokers experienced significant reduction in nicotine craving and withdrawal symptoms. In terms of body weight, increases were found in both, men and women, nonsmokers and smokers.

Conclusion

Successful quitters fail to report of an unbearable strong desire to smoke. Such unfounded fear should be communicated. Weight gain remains an undesired side effect. Hence, it is crucial to diagnose individuals more prone to weight gain and offer coping strategies thus reducing the risk of developing obesity. Nevertheless, the outcome of the study should be an encouragement to also heavy smokers and empower them to undertake smoking cessation.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge and thank the team of the Sick Fund of Upper Austria who, with great commitment, carry out the inpatient smoking cessation program at the Kurheim Linzerheim, Bad Schallerbach, Austria.

Conflict of interest

All authors (Boehm, Schroeder, and Schoberberger) declare that they have no competing interests and there is no funding for this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Social Medicine, Center of Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Gabriela Boehm &  Rudolf Schoberberger

  2. Department of Finance, Faculty of Business, Economics and Statistics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Yvonne Schroeder MSc

Authors
  1. Gabriela Boehm
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  2. Yvonne Schroeder MSc
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  3. Rudolf Schoberberger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriela Boehm.

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Boehm, G., Schroeder, Y. & Schoberberger, R. Inpatient smoking cessation therapy: truth or dare?. Wien Klin Wochenschr 127, 786–791 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-015-0820-9

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