Recruitment and initial interest of men in yoga for smoking cessation: QuitStrong, a randomized control pilot study

Abstract

Innovative treatments like yoga for men's smoking cessation (SC) are lacking. To examine the feasibility and acceptability of yoga for men's SC. We randomly assigned eligible men (smoker, ≥5 cigarettes/day, age 18-65) to receive cognitive behavioral therapy for SC, plus a yoga or wellness program. Measures included feasibility (recruitment, class attendance) and acceptability (customer satisfaction). We enrolled 38 of 49 eligible men of 167 screened in response to ads (mean age 39.9 years, ±13.7) who smoked on average 18.6 cigarettes/day (±8.3). Wellness (75.8 %) versus yoga (56 %) men attended more SC classes, p<0.01. Sixty percent attended ≥1 yoga class. Men reported greater satisfaction with in-house versus community yoga classes. Wellness appears to be the preferred intervention; results indicated that it may be more feasible and showed increased attendance at smoking classes. To be fully feasible, yoga + SC may need to be a unified program offering all classes tailored for men and in the same location. KeywordsSmoking cessation, Tobacco use cessation, Yoga, Exercise, Affect, Mind-body therapies INTRODUCTION Five times more men than women smoke worldwide [1]. In the USA in particular, where smoking is the leading preventable cause of death [2] and smoking prevalence has decreased by over 50 % since 1965, there are still significantly more men (21.5 %) than women (16.5 %) smokers [3]. The 2001 Surgeon General's report on women and smoking highlighted several urgent action items [4]. One of these action items was to "encourage the reporting of gender-specific results from studies of influences on smoking behavior, smoking prevention, and cessation interventions." Since 2001, researchers have made considerable progress toward increasing the evidence base and understanding of tobacco use and smoking cessation among women, although more research is still needed. However, given the continued significantly greater number of men who smoke and in some cases, higher rates of associated co-morbidities, it is imperative that the