A Pilot Study of a Readiness Group to Increase Initiation of Smoking Cessation Services among Women in Residential Addiction Treatment

• We test a 3 session readiness group to help drug treatment clients initiate smoking cessation.
• The readiness group was tested both with and without contingent incentives for participation.
• Of 79 readiness group participants, 38% later entered a smoking cessation group.
• The proportion that later entered a smoking cessation group did not differ by incentive condition.
• From pre- to post-readiness group, participants also reduced smoking behavior on average.

This study implemented a smoking cessation readiness group (RG) in two women-focused residential substance abuse treatment programs, with the aim of engaging women in smoking cessation services. The primary outcome was defined as attending at least one cessation group after the RG ended. The RG combined features of the Expert Systems (ES) approach with a practice quit attempt. ES is an interactive system which tailors intervention to the smokers’ stage of change, while the practice quit attempt rehearses the process of quitting smoking. As a secondary aim we tested whether incentives, used to promote participation and engagement in the RG, would increase initiation of smoking cessation services. Participants (N = 75) were women smokers enrolled in two residential programs, and intention to quit smoking was not required for participation. Twelve participant cohorts were randomly assigned to receive the RG with or without incentives. Following the RG intervention, 38.7% of participants (n = 29) attended at least one smoking cessation session. Both the number of RG sessions attended and a successful practice quit attempt predicted the later use of cessation services, while incentives did not. From pre- to post-RG, participants reported decreased cigarettes per day (CPD: 11.8 vs. 7.6, p < .0001) and decreased nicotine dependence as measured by the Heaviness Smoking Index (HSI: 2.3 vs. 1.8, p < .001). The 3-session group-format RG intervention was associated with initiation of smoking cessation services and with changes in smoking behavior.