Analysis and evaluation of effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine smoking cessation intervention based on "5A's" model

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) smoking cessation intervention model based on the "5A's" model.

Methods Sixty tobacco-dependent individuals with a desire to quit, treated at the smoking cessation clinic of Wuxi Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine were included. The intervention program integrated TCM therapies such as herbal tea (Lung-clearing Smoking Cessation Tea), acupuncture, and auricular acupressure, combined with the "5A's" model (ask, advise, assess, assist, arrange follow-up) to implement comprehensive intervention, with a follow-up period of 3 months. Changes in key indicators, including daily cigarette consumption, exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) value, Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) score, and continuous abstinence rate (CO≤6 ppm), were compared before intervention (baseline) and at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after intervention.

Results The continuous abstinence rate at 3 months after intervention reached 75.0% (45/60), which was significantly higher than the natural abstinence rate (< 5%). At each time point after intervention, daily cigarette consumption, exhaled CO value, and FTND score all decreased significantly compared to baseline (all P < 0.001), showing time-dependent improvement. Smoking cessation success rates varied among different constitutions, with higher success rates observed in individuals with phlegm-dampness constitution (78.6%, 22/28) and damp-heat constitution (70.8%, 17/24). No serious adverse events were reported.

Conclusion TCM smoking cessation intervention model based on the "5A's" model integrates TCM constitution-based differentiation intervention methods, significantly improving smoking cessation success rates, with proven effectiveness and good safety.