Background:
Globally, quitlines have been shown to be an effective means for smoking cessation. The success of quitting among smokers is contributed by many factors such as nicotine dependence, motivation, income and educational levels, previous quit attempts, environmental characteristics and quit methods. This study will determine the characteristics of clients with nicotine dependence and short- term abstinence (one month duration) among those registered with the USM Tobacco Quitline Service.

Methods:
Secondary analysis of USM Tobacco Quitline clients with the age range between 18-80 years old who completed initial assessment (one week pre Quit Date (QD)) and have been followed-up within one month post QD. The Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), which is a validated six-item scale, was used to assess the nicotine dependence among those that registered for Quitline service one week prior to QD. Continuous abstinence (relapse or continue quitting) data was obtained for one month post QD.

Results:
Of the 418 registered clients, 68.2% (n=285) confirmed their registration. Sixty four clients completed their initial assessment and were followed-up within one month post QD. Majority (93.8%) of them were males with the mean age of 44. All clients with high FTND score and 95.5% clients with moderate FTND score successfully achieved one month smoke- free (short-term abstinence) higher than clients with mild FTND score.

Conclusions:
The findings showed that smokers with high and moderate FTND scores were able to achieve better short-term abstinence compared to those with mild FTND score. Further research needs to be conducted to understand the reason for this behaviour. This result does not take into account other abstinence factors. A long-term abstinence data would provide an insight on the ways to improve the service particularly in the diverse client background.