Lung Tests Can Help Smokers Quit

MONDAY, Oct. 23, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- "Spirometry" lung-function tests that tell a smoker how badly their lungs have been affected, as well as special quit-smoking phone lines, can work together to help smokers to kick the habit, new research shows.

At team at Loyola University, Chicago, tracked outcomes for 465 smokers who had taken part in an earlier study on free lung testing.

The 465 smokers were divided into two groups. In one group, participants received a telephone call from the Illinois Tobacco Quit Line, inviting them to take part in telephone counseling to quit smoking. The people in the second group were given the quit line number but weren't contacted or offered any services.

Six months later, 90 percent of the "active" quit-line group had agreed to receive written material about quitting smoking, and 22 percent had agreed to take part in telephone counseling.

Overall, 40 percent of the smokers had tried to quit, and 16 percent were successful at six months.

"We found that more than one-third of smokers in this follow-up study said that participation in spirometry had a significant or moderate effect on their plan to change smoking behavior. Of the smokers, 70 percent attempted to quit or cut down since undergoing spirometry," study co-author Dr. Diana Hackbarth said in a prepared statement.

The findings from the initial and follow-up study were to be presented this week at the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) annual meeting, in Salt Lake City.

"Spirometry screening can help identify patients with lung impairment and may encourage patients who smoke to quit," Dr. Mark J. Rosen, ACCP president, said in a prepared statement. "Clinicians should encourage spirometry screening in all patients who smoke and in people with respiratory symptoms with no known cause.

More information

The American Medical Association has more about smoking cessation.