Motivational talks helped more people quit smoking, though trials varied.

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   9,485 people who smoked took part in 31 trials, including teenagers, adults with long-term illness, pregnant women and other adults. In the talk groups the average age was about 35, and about two in three were women.

2. 02

   What they did

   A trained helper talked with each person about their reasons to quit, which is called motivational interviewing. The other groups mostly got brief advice and leaflets, or nothing. About three in four talk groups also got other help, such as feedback.

3. 03

   What happened

   More people in the talk groups had stopped smoking, clearly so at 10 to 12 weeks and 22 to 26 weeks. The gap was not clear at 4 to 8 weeks, at a year, or for pregnant women. Teenagers showed the biggest gap, the authors found slight signs that some results were not published, and results varied widely.

What the review found

1. Helped

   Across 31 trials, more people given the talks had stopped smoking later than other groups did.

   • Action: Talk through your mixed feelings about changingtested
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Pooled analysis of 31 studies with 9,485 people · vs the other groups, mostly brief advice and leaflets · ⚠ signs that small negative studies went unpublished

Source