Entertainment Industry-Based Smoking Cessation Program Achieves High Success Rates Anecdotal data suggest that smoking rates among actors and production workers are well above the California average. The foundation worked with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and Los Angeles Clinical Trials and later the Mayo Clinic to develop and pilot a multi-component program — providing access to convenient tobacco cessation treatment — that was tailored to entertainment industry employees' needs. Half of those who took part in the program quit and stayed quit, which is twice the average success rate of traditional smoking cessation programs, according to a study released in the American Journal of Health Behavior. Dubbed "Hollywood Quits," the program included individual or group quit smoking counseling during both daytime and evening hours at the work-site of one major industry employer (Warner Bros. Entertainment) and at several health centers (run by the Motion Picture Television Fund, known at MPTF), as well as by telephone. Smoking cessation medications (Zyban® and nicotine replacement therapy) were provided to smokers for a low co-payment cost. Utilizing behavioral counseling and the use of medication, while at the same time eliminating many common barriers to treatment, proved to be a highly effective smoking cessation approach for entertainment industry workers. According to the article, more than 50 percent of the 470 participants in the program reported staying quit after six months of their last cigarette. The study also found: Smoking cessation medication use was high, with 95 percent of participants using at least one smoking cessation medication as part of their treatment plans. The majority of participants used a combination of smoking cessation medications. The use of multiple medications was associated with higher abstinence rates. The rates of referral and enrollment into the program were encouraging. This finding suggests intensive programs with flexible treatment options that are fully integrated into a health center or worksite may reduce barriers associated with pursuing treatment. MPTF health center program participants were recruited primarily through physician referrals. The fact that a physician asked about a person's smoking status, offering advice about quitting, and facilitated the smoker's referral into the treatment program appeared to be other reasons contributing to the program's success. Hollywood Quits was designed to utilize evidence-based methods for initial and long-term cessation using counseling, follow-up and pharmacotherapy for up to one year to employees. The American Legacy Foundation funded the medication and counseling. The foundation and EIF worked with the Motion Picture and Television Fund and Warner Bros. Entertainment to deliver the services to employees participating in the respective health care programs.