A Helpline Telephone Service for Tobacco Related Issues: The Italian Experience

Enrica Pizzi, Alessandra Di Pucchio, Luisa Mastrobattista, Renata Solimini, Roberta Pacifici and Simona Pichini
Additional contact information
Enrica Pizzi: Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation Department, Italian Epidemiological Observatory on Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs of abuse, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Alessandra Di Pucchio: Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation Department, Italian Epidemiological Observatory on Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs of abuse, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Luisa Mastrobattista: Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation Department, Italian Epidemiological Observatory on Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs of abuse, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Renata Solimini: Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation Department, Italian Epidemiological Observatory on Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs of abuse, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Roberta Pacifici: Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation Department, Italian Epidemiological Observatory on Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs of abuse, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Simona Pichini: Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation Department, Italian Epidemiological Observatory on Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs of abuse, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2009, vol. 6, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Antismoking helplines have become an integral part of tobacco control efforts in many countries, including Italy. The demonstrated efficacy and the convenience of telephone based counselling have led to the fast adoption of antismoking helplines. However, information on how these helplines operate in actual practice is not often readily available. This paper provides an overview of the Italian Antismoking Helpline, an increasingly popular telephone service for tobacco problems operating in Italy since 2000. As many states, regions and nations are contemplating various telephone programs as part of large scale anti-tobacco campaigns, this paper briefly discusses the reasons the helpline is well suited to lead the cessation component of a comprehensive tobacco control program, how it operates and how it can be used in conjunction with other tobacco control activities. The Italian Antismoking Helpline provides Italians with free services that include counselling, cessation related information, self help quit kits and current legislation information. The helpline is promoted statewide by media campaigns, health care providers, local tobacco control programs and public school system. The Helpline is centrally operated through the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and it has served over 17.000 tobacco users and others.

Keywords: Italian Antismoking Helpline; counselling; tobacco smoking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/6/3/900/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/6/3/900/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:6:y:2009:i:3:p:900-914:d:4132

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().