OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to assess the impact of the front loading phone calls counselling on the abstinence prevalence at 3 and 6 months after quit date among smokers in Penang, Malaysia. METHODS: The study was carried out at Quit Smoking Clinic of two major hospitals in the state of Penang, Malaysia. All the eligible tobacco users who attended the clinics between February 1st and October 31st 2012 were invited. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either the usual care (a combination of nicotine gum for the first 2 weeks and cognitive behaviour therapy); (control group), or the previous combination plus extra counselling sessions through phone calls during the first month of quit attempt (intervention group). RESULTS: Two hundred thirty one subjects were recruited during the period under review. The mean age of starting smoking in the study population  was 17.38 ± 3.9 years. The vast majority of our cohort (96.1%) was male. Participants smoked about 14 cigarettes per day on average (mean = 13.78 ± 7.0). At 3 months follow-up point, control group was less likely to quit smoking compared to intervention group but this did not reach statistical significance (OR = 0.669; 95% CI = 0.395-1.133, P = 0.86). However, at 6 months, the abstinence rate significantly differed between the standard care and combination of standard care and extra phone calls after verification with exhaled carbon monoxide (48.6% vs. 71.7%, respectively: <0.001). The control group were significantly less likely to quit smoking (OR = 0.375; 95% CI = 0.217-0.645, P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Smoking cessation intervention consisting of phone calls delivered counselling during the first month of quit attempt results in significantly higher abstinence rates compared with a standard care approach. Therefore, the front loading counselling is a promising treatment strategy that should be evaluated further.