Most older smokers who had relapsed wanted help to try again

Design

Retrospective cohort with one-time telephone follow-up

Population

297 adults aged 60 or older who attended a smoking cessation clinic in Türkiye, 97 interviewed

Primary outcome

Self-reported smoking status 4.6 to 9.8 years after clinic attendance

Effect

36.1% of respondents not smoking; 80.6% of current smokers willing to try again

A retrospective cohort in BMC Primary Care, published on 8 September, telephoned adults aged 60 and over who had attended a Turkish smoking cessation clinic five to ten years earlier.

Only 97 of 271 living patients could be reached. Of these, 36% said they were not smoking. Among the 62 still smoking, 81% said they would accept support for another attempt. The type of treatment originally planned was not clearly linked to outcome.

The quit rate here cannot be trusted, because most people were not reached. The more robust signal is the second one: older smokers who relapsed are not a lost cause and mostly want to try again.

Stopping smoking brings benefit at any age, and an older patient's relapse is a reason to offer another quit attempt, not to stop asking.

• Ask older patients who relapsed whether they want another quit attempt; most did.
• Offer medication and behavioural support again, even after previous failure.
• Record smoking status at every chronic disease review.
• Do not treat an older smoker's past relapse as a reason not to ask.

Why it matters

Clinicians often stop raising smoking with older patients after one failed attempt.

Don't overread it

Only a third of the cohort was reached, so the quit rate is not reliable.

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