AIMS: The idea that most smokers quit without formal assistance is widely accepted, however, few studies have been referenced as evidence. The purpose of this study is to systematically review the literature to determine what proportion of adult smokers report attempting to quit unassisted in population-based studies. METHODS: A four stage strategy was used to conduct a search of the literature including searching 9 electronic databases (PUBMED, MEDLINE (OVID) (1948-), EMBASE (1947-), CINAHL, ISI Web of Science with conference proceedings, PsycINFO (1806-), Scopus, Conference Papers Index, and Digital Dissertations), the gray literature, online forums and hand searches.
RESULTS: A total of 26 population-based prevalence studies of unassisted quitting were identified, which presented data collected from 1986 through 2010, in 9 countries. Unassisted quit attempts ranged from a high of 95.3% in a study in Christchurch, New Zealand, between 1998 and 1999, to a low of 40.6% in a national Australian study conducted between 2008 and 2009. In 24 of the 26 studies reviewed, a majority of quit attempts were unassisted.
CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review demonstrates that a majority of quit attempts in population-based studies to date are unassisted. However, across and within countries over time, it appears that there is a trend toward lower prevalence of making quit attempts without reported assistance or intervention.