Background:
General practitioners and practice nurses can play an important role in guiding patients who want to quit smoking. The Dutch smoking cessation guideline for general practitioners indicates that with a standard intensive intervention in combination with pharmacotherapy, quit rates of approximately 20% can be achieved. More effective approaches are needed to improve smoking cessation treatment.

Objective:
Our aim was to evaluate the outcomes of a multidisciplinary smoking cessation program implemented in 14 general practices in the region of Almere, the Netherlands.

Methods:
From 2019, an intensive smoking cessation program was gradually implemented in 14 general practices in the region of Almere, the Netherlands. Key elements of this program include the active attitude required from the patient (reading a self-help book, making a smoking quit plan), guidance by practice nurses specialized in smoking addiction, and the long counseling period focused on relapse prevention during one year. Patients were guided in both individual and group sessions.

Results:
From 1 January 2019 to 10 May 2022, 663 patients enrolled in the smoking cessation program, of which 528 patients continued the program after the intake. Mean age was 52 years (range: 18–86 years), and 48% were male. Of all patients with complete followup (N=370), 38.6% reported smoking abstinence at least 12 months after entering the program. A sensitivity analysis, where patients without follow-up were coded as smokers, showed a quit rate of 28.3% after at least 12 months.

Conclusions:
An intensive smoking cessation program, including a long counseling period of one year, can be worthwhile to improve smoking treatment in general practice.