The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: This study aimed to do the nationwide survey of the smoking cessation services using a best known comprehensive list of 381 sites located all across Thailand.

Methods: The study was divided into three parts. First, the whole list was examined to see what types of services were included. Second, 125 randomly selected sites were phoned and asked if they still provided the services. And third, convenience sample of 29 stratified sites were in-depth interviewed about their service characteristics.

Results: The list included private hospital and clinic, 73.8%. The others were in public sections. Thirty percent served in Bangkok. From 125 sites, only 86 (68.8 percent) could be accessed with the existing services. Only 6 of 29 interviewed sites were established as smoking cessation clinics. The rest were operated by a single physician or nurse. The services were part of several departments such as drug dependence, psychiatric, and health promotion departments. The activities were mainly provided on one or two day per week basis using individual consultation which emphasized on a non-drug counseling. The accessibility to Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and other medications was very limited and different by type of settings.