Tailoring smoking cessation for older adults

Background. Older adults are an important audience for smoking cessation programs. Over 4.5 million older adults (older than age 65) continue to smoke, and the majority are long term, heavy smokers. There is evidence that smoking cessation programs tailored to older smokers can be effective. American Cancer Society (ACS) materials and programs represent an important opportunity to meet the needs of older smokers. Methods. This article reviews the rationale for tailoring programs to older adults. A 10‐step model is presented. The Clear Horizons program is provided as an example of a tailored program. Results. The Clear Horizons program demonstrated that a tailored program results in significantly higher rates of quitting‐20% of Clear Horizons participants reported not smoking at 12 months compared with 15% for the generic guide. Conclusions. Older smokers were highly responsive to a tailored program. The ACS should consider opportunities for tailoring new and existing programs to meet the needs of older smokers.