Background: Tobacco smoking is a global epidemic causing millions of deaths and significant loss of quality of life. Despite the availability of evidence-based and cost-effective methods for smoking cessation counselling, it is notable that a relatively small proportion of smokers are offered support and guidance. Therefore, new approaches are being explored, including brief referral methods like Very Brief Advice (VBA), to address the limited use of smoking cessation counselling in the healthcare system.

Purpose: The purpose of this literature review is to identify evidence on the effectiveness of brief referral methods such as Very Brief Advice (VBA) on referral and/or smoking cessation rates among smokers.

Methods: The Cochrane Library, PubMed and Google were search from September to November 2022. Randomized controlled trails (RCTs) of adult, daily smokers undergoing a brief referral method were included. No time restrictions were imposed. The review includes a narrative synthesis of RCT-studies using brief referral methods.

Results: The effects of brief referral methods vary among the 13 included RCTs, with a positive effect being almost exclusively seen on short-term abstinence. However, several studies show that significantly larger proportions of participants are referred to smoking cessation services when using an active referral compared to passive or no referral.

Conclusion: Although widely used, there is a lack of evidence supporting the effectiveness of brief referral methods on smoking cessation rates. Smoking cessation is extremely important, and further research should focus on the validity of brief referral methods including VBA and in which settings these interventions are suitable.