A Cochrane review included 66 studies withover 20 000 subjects. There was an increase in smoking cessation with the use of a group programme compared to self-help programme . There was no evidence that group therapy was more effective than a similar intensity of individual counselling . There was limited evidence that the addition of group therapy to other forms of treatment, including advice from a health professional or nicotine replacement produced extra benefit. Programmes which included components for increasing cognitive and behavioural skills were not shown to be more effective than same length or shorter programmes without these components (RR 1.15, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.37; 8 studies, n= 1524).
| Outcome: Abstinence at 6 months or later - self-report, ± biochemical validation | Relative effect (95% CI) | Control: No quit | Intervention -Group prgramme: No quit (95% CI) | № of participants (studies) Quality of the evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group programme compared to self-help | RR 1.88 (1.52 to 2.33) | 5 per 100 | 9 per 100 (8 to 12) | 4395 (13) Moderate |
| Group programme compared to brief support | RR 1.25 (1.07 to 1.46) | 5 per 100 | 6 per 100 (5 to 7) | 7601 (16) Low |
| Group programme compared to face-to-face individual intervention | RR 0.99 (0.76 to 1.28) | 11 per 100 | 11 per 100 (8 to 14) | 980 (6) Moderate |
| Group programme plus pharmacotherapy versus pharmacotherapy and brief support alone | RR 1.11 (0.93 to 1.33) | 18 per 100 | 20 per 100 (17 to 24) | 1523 (5) Moderate |
| Group programme versus 'no intervention' | RR 2.60 (1.80 to 3.76) | 5 per 100 | 13 per 100 (9 to 19) | 1098 (9) Low |