New Community Guide Recommendation on Tobacco Cessation

The Community Preventive Services Task Force is an independent, nonfederal body of public health and prevention experts, whose members are appointed by the Director of CDC. In December 2011, the Task Force made this determination:

The Task Force recommends mobile phone-based interventions for tobacco cessation based on sufficient evidence of effectiveness in increasing tobacco use abstinence among people interested in quitting. Evidence was considered sufficient based on findings from six studies in which mobile phone-based interventions were implemented alone or in combination with Internet-based interventions.

Summary page- http://www.thecommunityguide.org/tobacco/cessation/mobilephone.html

Rationale statement- http://www.thecommunityguide.org/tobacco/cessation/RRmobilephone.html

This finding will be published in an associated journal, but was released in advance of publication so that it may be used immediately. Significantly, this is the first mobile phone-based intervention recommended by the Task Force.

Source: Jason M. M. Spangler, MD, MPH, FACPM, Chief Medical Officer, Partnership for Prevention