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People are more likely to quit tobacco when instructed by an ER doctor, according to a new study.

New research reveals that people were 250 percent more likely to quit tobacco after receiving interventions in the emergency department than those who did not receive the interventions.

"Because approximately 20 million smokers visit emergency departments annually, this intervention has the potential to greatly reduce tobacco use among our patients," lead study author Dr. Steven L. Bernstein, MD, of the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, said in a news release. "Given that cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and illness in the United States, anything we can do to discourage smoking has value. The need is particularly acute in low-income populations like those we studied."

The latest study involved 778 participants identified as smokers. Study data revealed that half of the participants were given motivational interviewing, nicotine replacement and quit line referral.

The findings revealed that 12.2 percent of the participants in the intervention group and 4.9 percent in the control group were tobacco-free after three months. 

Further analysis also revealed that participants in the intervention group were significantly more likely to be tobacco free for at least one year.

"While a busy emergency department may not welcome the additional responsibility of tobacco-cessation counseling, sometimes we have to meet our patients where they are," Bernstein concluded. "Future research should focus on longer-term interventions, as well as mobile health technologies, such as texting."

The latest study "Successful Tobacco Dependence Treatment in Low-Income Emergency Department Patients: A Randomized Trial" was published in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine.