Behavioural support and nicotine replacement therapy for smokeless tobacco cessation in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan: A pilot randomized controlled trial

Background and aimsSmokeless tobacco (ST) use in South Asia is high, yet interventions to support its cessation are lacking. We tested the feasibility of delivering interventions for ST cessation in South Asia.DesignWe used a 2 x 2 factorial design, pilot randomized controlled trial with a duration of 26 weeks, including baseline and follow-up (6, 12 and 26 weeks) assessments.SettingTwo primary health-care facilities each in Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Karachi (Pakistan) and a walk-in cancer screening clinic in Noida (India) took part.ParticipantsAdult daily ST users willing to make a quit attempt within 30 days. Of 392 screened, 264 participants [mean age: 35 years, standard deviation = 12.5, 140 (53%) male] were recruited between December 2020 and December 2021; 132 from Bangladesh, 44 from India and 88 from Pakistan.InterventionsParticipants were randomized to one of three treatment options [8-week support through nicotine replacement therapy (NRT, n = 66), a behavioural intervention for smokeless tobacco cessation in adults (BISCA, n = 66) or their combination (n = 66)] or the control condition of very brief advice (VBA) to quit (n = 66).MeasurementsRecruitment and retention, data completeness and feasibility of intervention delivery were evaluated. Biochemically verified abstinence from tobacco, using salivary cotinine, was measured at 26 weeks.FindingsRetention rates were 94.7% at 6 weeks, dropping to 89.4% at 26 weeks. Attendance in BISCA pre-quit (100%) and quit sessions (86.3%) was high, but lower in post-quit sessions (65.9%), with variability among countries. Adherence to NRT also varied (45.5% Bangladesh, 90% India). Data completion for key variables exceeded 93% among time-points, except at 26 weeks for questions on nicotine dependence (90%), urges (89%) and saliva samples (62.7%). Among follow-up time-points, self-reported abstinence was generally higher among participants receiving BISCA and/or NRT. At 26 weeks, biochemically verified abstinence was observed among 16 (12.1%) participants receiving BISCA and 13 (9.8%) participants receiving NRT.ConclusionsThis multi-country pilot randomized controlled trial of tobacco cessation among adult smokeless tobacco users in South Asia demonstrated the ability to recruit and retain participants and report abstinence, suggesting that a future definitive smokeless tobacco cessation trial is viable.