Impact of National ABC Promotion on 1-800-QUIT-NOW

Purpose. ABC's World News Tonight (WNT) promotion of 800-QUIT-NOW allowed for a nationwide introduction of the QUIT-NOW number; this study examined the impact on call volume. Design. Pre-postassessment. Setting. National health promotion campaign. Subjects. U.S. population (smokers). Measures. Monthly call attempts to the quitline at national and state levels. Intervention. During November 2005 ABC's WNT highlighted the National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines' toll-free number, 800-QUIT-NOW, during the month-long series, “Quit to Live: Fighting Lung Cancer.” Analysis. We compared changes in call volume prepromotion, during promotion, and postpromotion by percent and regional differences, range, and average number of calls. Results. Overall call volume in the United States (49 states and the District of Columbia) increased markedly in November; 37,049 calls compared with 16,145 in October. Although there was large variability across states, there was an average of 317 calls prepromotion, 726 calls during the promotion, and 397 calls postpromotion. Conclusion. The promotion highlighted the need for capacity building in terms of both sustained promotion and ability of quitlines to provide service as the number of calls increased, as well as the importance of coordinating efforts so adjustments to individual state quitlines can be made. The series served as the first national promotion and drew attention to the potential impact on the National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines.