Title

Cognitive behavioral therapy for tobacco cessation among government bus drivers in Patna: Results from a randomized controlled trial

Authors

Gagan Raj* & Ankita Jain

Affiliation

Department of Public Health Dentistry, Teerthanker Mahaveer Dental College & Research Centre, Teerthanker Mahaveer, University, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Gagan Raj - E-mail: dr.graj207@gmail.com

Ankita Jain - E-mail: ankitajain0815@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received February 1, 2026; Revised February 28, 2026; Accepted February 28, 2026, Published February 28, 2026

Abstract

The effectiveness of CBT compared to BHE for tobacco cessation remains unclear, particularly among government bus drivers in Patna. A randomized trial involving 200 smokers (aged 35–44) assessed outcomes at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks using the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), expired carbon monoxide (CO) and the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). Results showed that 60% of the CBT group quit smoking compared to 35% in the BHE group. CBT also led to a significant reduction in FTND scores and CO levels. This suggests that CBT is more effective than BHE in tobacco cessation. The study addresses the gap in understanding the comparative effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Basic Health Education (BHE) in promoting tobacco cessation among smokers.

Keywords

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), basic health education, tobacco cessation, Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), bus drivers, randomized controlled trial

Citation

Raj & Jain, Bioinformation 22(2): 943-946 (2026)

Edited by

Ritik Kashwani

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.