Objective: To determine the effects of motivational interviewing (MI) counselling versus a minimal intervention control on the enrollment of smokers in the Minnesota QUITPLAN Helpline.

Study design: Two-group randomized controlled trial of 235 community-dwelling adult smokers. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a three-session phone based motivational interviewing intervention (n = 118) or the control (n = 117) consisting of mailed printed materials about the Minnesota QUITPLAN helpline services.

Data collection: Participants completed demographic and smoking-related survey questionnaire at baseline (by mail) and at weeks 4 and 26 (by phone) follow-up. Quitline enrollment status data was provided by the Minnesota QUITPLAN Helpline.

Principal findings: At week 4 follow-up, a higher proportion of participants in the MI group (22.3%) had enroled in the Minnesota QUITPLAN Helpline compared to those in the control arm (13.6%; p = 0.098). At week 26 follow-up, enrollment rates were similar for MI (28.0%) and control (26.5%) arms. Of those who enroled in the Helpline, participants in the MI group reported completing more Helpline sessions than those in control group (4.9 vs. 3.2; p = 0.087).

There was no significant interaction between readiness to quit and intervention for the outcome of enrollment in the Helpline.

Conclusions: A minimal intensity control such as mailing printed materials resulted in quitline enrollment rates similar to a more resource intensive intervention like motivational interviewing and several folds higher than the current state or national averages. We recommend that health plans should consider mailing smoking cessation promotional messages to encourage smokers to enrol in quitlines.

This study investigated the role of metacognitions in high-dependency smokers, low-dependency smokers and non-smokers. A sample of high-dependency smokers (n = 27), low-dependency smokers (n = 33), and non-smokers (n = 43) completed self-report measures of negative emotion, metacognitions and smoking dependence. Results indicated that high-dependency smokers scored higher than non-smokers on Positive Beliefs about Worry. Furthermore on Beliefs about the Need to Control Thoughts high and low-dependency smokers scored higher than non-smokers. A logistic regression analysis indicated that Beliefs about the Need to Control Thoughts were the only predictor of classification as a dependent smoker when controlling for negative emotion. These results are consistent with a metacognitive conceptualization of smoking dependence.

Interest in functional foods is increasing. The aim of the present study was to investigate breads supplemented with functional components. One was bread supplemented with inulin, linseed and soya fibre (prebiotic bread). The other was a prebiotic antioxidant bread (pre-aox-bread), which additionally contained green tea powder, herbs and tomato paste. The effects of these two breads on immunological and antioxidative parameters were compared with control bread (placebo). Twenty smokers and eighteen non-smokers were enrolled in the randomised parallel study, which consisted of a control period and an intervention period, each lasting for 5 weeks. Daily intake of bread and nutrients did not differ between the intervention and the control period. Most of the twenty-three investigated immunological parameters measured in peripheral blood were unaffected. However, the percentage of CD19 increased after intervention with prebiotic bread, whereas intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and CD3+NK+ (P < 0·05) decreased in both intervention arms. The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) was increased after consumption of the pre-aox-bread for non-smokers (1256 v. 1147 μmol/l; P = 0·019) and remained unchanged for smokers consuming the pre-aox-bread. All analysed carotenoids (P ≤ 0·001) in plasma were increased after the consumption of pre-aox-bread. The concentrations of uric acid and α-tocopherol rose after intervention with both breads. ICAM-1 as a marker of stress decreased after consuming the prebiotic bread. In conclusion, increased plasma concentrations of carotenoids and the responses observed with the FRAP assay after intervention with the pre-aox-bread indicate a unique response in terms of antioxidative potentials for this type of functional food.