Anthonisen 2005 — smoking cessation and mortality

One-paragraph summary

Long-term follow-up of the Lung Health Study randomized smoking intervention evaluated 14.5-year mortality in smokers with mild-to-moderate airflow obstruction. The intervention produced sustained separation in quitting and lower all-cause mortality, supplying rare hard-outcome evidence that risk-factor treatment changes COPD trajectory (PMID 15710956).

Key findings

• Randomized behavioral smoking intervention with long follow-up.
• Mortality was lower in the intervention arm despite modest sustained quit-rate differences.

Limitations

• Participants had relatively early airflow obstruction and trial-era treatment.
• The intervention package, not a single cessation component, was randomized.

Why it matters

It elevates smoking cessation from generic advice to evidence-based disease modification.

Cited by wiki pages

• Overview
• Smoking, pollution and occupational risk