Problem/Objective: According to the Healthy People 2010 report, cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. Santa Clara County offers 2 comprehensive behavior-modification smoking cessation programs, to all county residents in 2 different settings. Outpatient participants may voluntarily enroll in the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP) which consists of 2 monthly classes. Inpatient participants at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) may be more motivated by their illness to receive bedside smoking cessation counseling during their hospital stay. Such a “teachable moment” might reinforce the smoking cessation message.

Methods: During the fiscal year 2004-2005, there were 247 participants who enrolled in the TPEP and 168 patients enrolled in the SCVMC program. Self-reported smoking status at 90 days from 122 TPEP men, 125 TPEP women, 106 SCVMC men and 62 SCVMC women was collected and analyzed to determine the success rates between genders in these 2 different programs. The Chi-square test with a P ≤0.05 was considered significant.

Results: There were no significant differences in the smoking quit rates between TPEP women vs. SCVMC men or women, or between SCVMC men vs. SCVMC women. Significant differences are displayed in the graph.

Conclusions: We conclude that women are more successful in smoking cessation than men. Men are more likely to quit smoking when faced with the “teachable moment” of an acute condition requiring hospitalization.