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This study evaluated the efficacy of a 6-week forced ban on smoking and brief behavioral counseling on long-term smoking rates. Participants were active-duty enrollees in U.S. Air Force basic military training over a 1-year period (N = 25,996). All participants were under a 6-week ban from tobacco products, and 75% were randomized to a brief smoking cessation intervention, with the other 25% randomized to a control condition. At 1-year follow-up, 18% of smokers were abstinent; women, ethnic minorities, and those intending to stay quit at baseline were more likely to be abstinent. Among smokers not planning to remain abstinent at baseline, those receiving the intervention were 1.73 times more likely to be abstinent. Over time, substantial smoking initiation occurred among nonsmokers (8% of never smokers, 26% of experimental smokers, and 43% of ex-smokers). Forced cessation is associated with good levels of long-term cessation, and brief behavioral interventions enhance cessation in certain subgroups.

Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 1990). As a result, tremendous efforts have been expended toward smoking prevention and cessation. Smoking prevention efficacy efforts can generally achieve a 30% to 40% reduction in smoking onset for up to 2 years postprogram (USDHHS, 1994). However, these efficacy studies are very intensive, costly, and beyond the reaches of most communities and school systems. The research on smoking cessation efforts indicates multicomponent programs are efficacious, but the majority of smoking cessation attempts fail (USDHHS, 1990). Intensive smoking cessation efforts, although expensive, typically yield 10% to 28% long-term cessation (U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources, 1996).

Unfortunately, many smoking cessation programs are beyond the resources of most individuals and cannot be cost-effectively applied to large populations; in addition, the vast majority of smokers do not seek out formal programs, preferring to quit smoking on...