Comparative Effectiveness of Two Tobacco Cessation Interventions for Employees of Partners HealthCare, Inc.

The internal coaching program will provide cognitive-behavioral counseling and medication adherence support for smokers who are ready to quit in the next 3 months It consists of: 1. Telephone counseling by the Tobacco Coach (8 calls over 12 weeks). supplemented by automated phone calls using interactive voice response. At each IVR contact, smokers can request a call back from the Tobacco Coach. Smokers who are not quit after 3 months can restart into the 12-week counseling program. 2. The Tobacco Coach will assist smokers in choosing pharmacotherapy and in obtaining a prescription from the smoker's physician. 3. Support and monitoring for 12 months using automated phone calls. If relapse occurs, the smoker will have the option to return to the active 12-week program.

Referral to Massachusetts Smokers Helpline (telephone quitline operated by the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program) for proactive telephone counseling.