The current proposal seeks to utilize an extraordinarily unique opportunity to evaluate a smoking cessation/relapse prevention intervention in an entire population of underserved smokers who have already quit smoking for a six-week period of time (but are at risk for complete relapse). This project is a collaborative endeavor between Memphis State University, the University of Minnesota, and the United States Air Force to test this unique intervention in the population of Air Force recruits, all of whom are assigned to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for basic training. Strengths of this program include intervening in an underserved population that is at risk for initiating smoking, the ability to randomize an entire population (the population of Air Force recruits), and the ability to intervene in smokers who already have quit smoking for four weeks prior to our intervention (smoking is banned in basic training). Participation will be virtually 100% and dropouts/loss to follow-up will be extremely low (2.8%). Thus, our specific aims are as follows: (1) To evaluate the effectiveness of a smoking cessation/relapse prevention intervention (relative to a usual treatment control) in a population of young adults at high risk for smoking resumption and initiation. Both the short (end of basic training) and long (one-year follow-up) term effects of our intervention will be evaluated; and (2) To determine the predictors of treatment success in this intervention (e.g., minorities vs. nonminorities, males vs. females, heavier vs. lighter smokers).
