Building Capacity and Promoting Smoking Cessation in the Correctional Institutions

Although smoking prevalence is decreasing in Hong Kong, there are still 615,000 daily cigarette smokers in Hong Kong in 2017 and half will be killed by smoking [5] which accounts for over 7,000 deaths per year. Smoking is a highly addictive behavior and it is difficult for smokers with strong nicotine dependence to quit without assistance. Despite the low smoking rate in the general population, smoking prevalence remain high in the correctional institutions. Incarcerated prisoners suffer disproportionately from mental illness, substance use disorders and disease infections. They are in need of health care such as treatment or prevention for smoking. There is a lack of evidence on the effectiveness of smoking cessation intervention in the correctional setting. More work is required to provide smoking cessation assistance to these high risk and underserved population.

The aim of this project is to promote and evaluate a smoking cessation intervention through the "Quit to Win" Contest organised in correctional institutions in Hong Kong. The specific objectives of the study are:

1. To test the effectiveness of face-to-face brief cessation advice and video education for smoking cessation among current smokers at the correctional institutions in Hong Kong;
2. To evaluate the process and outcome of the recruitment of smokers through qualitative interviews; and
3. To conduct qualitative interviews with quitters and non-quitters to examine their experience on the intervention.