Can free nicotine patches help smoking cessation by utilizing diffusion of innovations theory

Can free nicotine patches help smoking cessation by utilizing diffusion
of innovations theory?
Tobacco use and smoking continue to be public health problems
in the United States and around the world. Effective treatments
for quitting smoking are available, but many tobacco users and
smokers do not utilize them. In the United States, all 50 states
have set up quitlines. One quitline, the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line
(OTQL), used the diffusion of innovations theory to promote the
use of free nicotine patches (Deprey et al., 2009). The innovation
that the project had was free nicotine patches, which were distrib-
uted by the Oregon Free Patch Initiative (FPI). The FPI provided a
2-week nicotine patch starter kit free of charge to callers for 2 and
half months (time). The program used various communication
channels, including radio programs, word of mouth, emails, and
letters to public- and private-sector partners. The social systems
the program tapped included health plans, local policymakers,
media sources, and referral sources, such as healthcare provid-
ers. An evaluation of the program found that over a 3-month
period the FPI was able to get free news media coverage, was
successful in generating a 12-fold increase in calls to the quit-
line, sustained a twofold increase in the calls 5 months after the
program ended, and reached 1.3% of all smokers in the state of
Oregon. The researchers concluded that the distribution of free
nicotine patches utilizing the diffusion of innovations theory was
an effective way for quitlines to promote smoking cessation.
Deprey, M., McAfee, T., Bush, T., McClure, J. B., Zbikowski,
S., & Mahoney, L. (2009). Using free patches to improve
reach of the Oregon Quit Line. Journal of Public Health
Management and Practice, 15(5), 401–408.
Questions for Discussion
1. Can free nicotine patches help smoking cessation by utilizing
diffusion of innovations theory? Why or why not?
2. Was the diffusion of innovations theory adequately opera-
tionalized in this case study? What else could have been
done?

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