Visit a smoking cessation clinic or call 12320 to find local services

5. Visit a smoking cessation clinic or call 12320 to find local services

Cost: A single clinic visit costs only a few to dozens of yuan. Behavioral support typically involves 4–8 sessions lasting 30–60 minutes each, totaling under 5 hours. Calling the helpline is completely free.

In plain terms: Medications and regular follow-up support from professionals are two distinct components that work best together. People who take medication while receiving dedicated follow-up have nearly twice the quit rate of those who only receive brief advice. Phone support also helps: those who proactively call the smoking cessation helpline see their success rate rise by 20–30% compared to others.

Benefit: Across 52 trials involving 19,488 participants, the combination of medication and behavioral support led to a 1.83-fold higher quit rate than standard care or brief advice (RR 1.83, 95% CI 1.68–1.98; high-quality evidence). For the 43 trials conducted in medical settings, this advantage rose to 1.97-fold (95% CI 1.79–2.18). When looking at phone-based support alone: among people who called the helpline themselves, those receiving multiple follow-up calls had a 38% higher quit rate than those who only got informational materials or a single consultation (RR 1.38, 95% CI 1.19–1.61; 14 trials, 32,484 participants). For people who did not call the helpline but received scheduled phone support from researchers, the success rate was 25% higher than those without such support (RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.15–1.35; 65 trials, 41,233 participants). Both findings are supported by evidence of moderate certainty.

Evidence grade: A

Sources: Stead LF, Koilpillai P, Fanshawe TR, Lancaster T (2016). Combined pharmacotherapy and behavioural interventions for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 3, CD008286. <https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD008286.pub3>; Matkin W, Ordóñez-Mena JM, Hartmann-Boyce J (2019). Telephone counselling for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 5, CD002850. <https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD002850.pub4>; China CDC (2021). "China smoking cessation platform"WeChat mini program officially launched: "Under the guidance of the Healthy China Action Tobacco Control Action Working GroupChina CDCTogether with the World Health Organization Representative Office in China, we created the WeChat mini program "China Smoking Smoking Platform", China's authoritative smoking cessation resource library. The content of the mini program mainly includes: Quitline, Detailed information on smoking cessation clinics and online smoking cessation service resources, etc."; Same site footer annotation"Health consultation phone number: 12320". <https://www.chinacdc.cn/jkyj/yckz/gzdt/202203/t20220310_296389.html>

Notes: How to find local services in China: Search “China Smoking Cessation Platform” on WeChat to access a list of local smoking cessation clinics and helplines, or call 12320 to ask about nearby options. Most of the above trials were conducted overseas, and the intensity of services at local clinics varies widely; these figures should be viewed as general guidelines only. The recommended medications are listed in Section 3 of this chapter (“Smoking cessation medications”).