Problem/Objective: The aim of the project was to assess the effectiveness of a brief tobacco intervention with tobacco users not seeking treatment.

Methods: Tobacco users between 18 and 24 years of age were recruited from six rural Pennsylvanian counties. A total of 184 young adults who reported at least one day of tobacco use in the past 30 days were surveyed from non-college settings over a 3-week period using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Follow-up contact was initiated at two weeks and six months. Participants completed a brief interview to assess their tobacco use patterns and motivation to quit. Following the completion of the survey, individuals interested in quitting were provided a brief intervention and referral to cessation services.

Results: Overall 145 (78.8%) reported some interest in quitting. During the two week follow-up 15 (10.3%) attended at least one cessation session. Overall 81/139 (58.3%) of those who agreed to continue completed the six month follow-up. Of these 17 (20.9%) reported not using tobacco within the last 30days; and 55 (67.9%) of 81 reported a quit attempt in the last six months. Of the 64 who reported using tobacco, 9 (14%) enrolled in a tobacco cessation program.

Conclusions: Targeted outreach efforts can be an effective technique to engage non-treatment seeking tobacco users into cessation.