Comparison of reactive and non-reactive measures of smoking cessation at follow-up.

Subjects who had completed a smoking cessation program were contacted at 3- and 4-month follow-up to assess self-reported frequency of daily cigarette smoking. Subjects were randomly assigned to a reactive or non-reactive condition of telephone contact in obtaining the self-report. In the reactive condition, the telephone caller seeking self-report identified herself as an assistant in the original smoking cessation treatment program. In the non-reactive condition the telephone caller identified herself as an employee of a firm conducting a market research survey of the use of various consumer products. There were no statistically significant differences between the conditions in either self-report of abstinence or absolute frequency of daily cigarette consumption.