A Pilot Clinical Trial of Smoking Cessation Services Implemented in the Workplace for Service Industry Employees

Purpose: Evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of implementing evidence-based tobacco treatment at the workplace for service industry employees. Design: Randomized trial using 6 paired worksites (3 test and 3 delayed intervention control sites). Setting: US Northeast city. Participants: Employees were recruited from university food service settings. Intervention: Comprehensive smoking treatment was provided at the workplace including individual counseling, free pharmacotherapy (dual nicotine replacement therapy or varenicline), and 5 weeks of contingency management that reinforced abstinence or reductions in smoking to encourage progress toward quitting. Measures: Primary measures included a smoking status survey administered at the end of treatment at the test sites and before treatment began at the delayed intervention control sites. Analysis: Analyses compared rates of quit attempts and successful abstinence for at least 24 hours between the test and delayed intervention control sites. Results: Twenty-five employees were enrolled in treatment. The majority were single (12/25), black (16/25), and reported their educational attainment as high school or less (18/25). Employees in the test (vs delayed intervention control) sites reported higher rates of quit attempts (66.7% vs 12.5%, P = .02) and success quitting for at least 24 hours (53.3% vs 12.5%, P = .08). Participants rated the treatment as very helpful overall. Conclusion: Findings support the feasibility and efficacy of providing workplace-based smoking cessation services and may inform strategies to increase access to treatment.