OA09.01 Opt-Out Smoking Cessation Program in Lung Cancer Screening Provides Excellent Quit Rates

The most effective way to integrate smoking cessation into lung cancer screening has not been established. The opt -out approach has been shown to produce quit rates in those ‘not interested in quitting’ to equal quit rate in those individuals ‘ready to quit.’ The BC Lung Screen Trial recruits ever smokers 55 to 80 years of age who meet either the PLCOm2012 6 years lung cancer risk ≥1.5% or USPSTF smoking criteria. The purpose of this study is to prospectively evaluate the smoking cessation rate of current smokers using an opt-out approach. Screened participants who were interviewed for screening eligibility were given brief, 10 minute, smoking cessation counselling in-person by a research assistants (RA) trained in smoking cessation. They discussed the health benefits of smoking cessation and outlined resources available including free nicotine replacement therapy. All participants were given an information pamphlet and automatically referred to QuitNow; the provincial telephone based smoking cessation line. They were then contacted by the study staff at 3 and 6 months to determine smoking status. Between January 2018 and Jan 2019, 396 current smokers participated in a face to face interview prior to screening and 355 (90%) accepted referral to QuitNow. All of these participants were contacted by QuitNow/study staff. 309 (87%) accepted some form of cessation service including telephone counselling, text messaging, on-line coaching, pharmacotherapy or a combination of services. Of those accepting a service, the 3 and 6-month self-reported quit rate was 27% with 75% of participants who quit used telephone or online coaching. Most current smokers participating in a lung cancer screening program are interested in smoking cessation. Of those who accept some form of smoking cessation counselling service, an excellent (27%) quit rate was observed using an opt-out approach.