Background: Smoking cessation services in Ubon Ratchathani region has been established since 2010. Data analysis and summary have yet to be conducted.

Objective: It aimed to evaluate the current smoking cessation strategies related to quit results among smokers living in Ubon Ratchathani region.

Materials and Methods: It was a quasi-experimental, cross-sectional study. All conscripts training at Sanpasithiprasong Military Base were divided into either mouthwash or ‘going cold turkey’ groups. Patient data were collected at 1^st visit, 2^nd visit (3- month), and 3^rd visit (6- month). Carbon-monoxide (CO) levels were also measured via CO meter. For demographic information, descriptive statistics including, percentage, frequency, mean, standard deviation (SD) were used. Regarding quit results and CO levels between groups at 1-, 3-, and 6-month periods, chi-square test and mixed effects linear regression were implemented. The relation between variables and quit results was analyzed via multiple logistic regression.

Results: Totally there were 1,094 participants, 953 were in ‘going cold turkey’ group, the other 141 were in mouthwash group. Most participants were married, alcohol drinkers, and smoked cigarettes between 10 and 15 rolls a day. It revealed there were no statistically significant differences of quit results between groups at 3- and 6- month periods (p = 0.418, .525 respectively). Average CO levels at 6-month periods of the mouthwash group was significantly lower than those in the ‘going cold turkey’ group by 1.79 ppm (95% CI: -3.14, -0.44, p = 0.009). Only two variables including, numbers of cigarettes and CO levels were significantly related to the quit results at 6-month periods (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Overall, both mouthwash and ‘going cold turkey’ strategies are shown to be effective for smoking cessation. Carbon monoxide (CO) levels were significantly different between groups only at 6-month periods (p<0.05). Only numbers of cigarette
rolls and CO levels are significantly related to the quit results (p = 0.001).

Keywords: Smoking cessation strategies, Quit results, Mouthwash, Going cold turkey