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At the end of each of the first three months
after the completion of the four weeks course of
treatment patients were sent a reply paid inquiry
asking how much, on average they had been smoking
during the previ ous months.
Assessed four months after starting treatment,
only 10 per cent of patients had stopped smoking
completely, That so few patients were able to
achieve complete success is disappointing, but the
proportion of patients considerably cutting down
their smoking was more impressive, and this reduction
was not ephemeral so far as a three-month follow-up
was concerned. The degree to which patients who cut
down but did not stop their smoking would show more
long-term benefit is, however, very uncertain.
Whatever the therapeutic success of an anti-smoking
clinic, its establishment may, as an obvious manifestation
of official concern, have a valuable impact on public
opinion. Furthermore, even a moderate success rate may
justify the expense involved in running a clinic. That
the treatment described in the present paper did not
achieve better results is no reason for abandoning antismoking
clinics, but provides on the contrary an urgent
argument for further experiment in methods and treatment.
SUMMARY
(1) At an anti smoking clinic set up by the Public Health
Department of Camberwell Borough Council a comparison
was made of the results of four week's treatment with
buffered lobeine sulphate and placebo. Postal
follow up inquiry was made at one, two and three
months after the end of treatment. There were 25
women in each group.
(2) Neither during the four-week treatment nor at followup
were there significant differences in outcome
between the groups Considering the two groups
together 68 per cent had by the last clinic treatment
reduced their smoking to 0-33 per cent of the