Smoke free text messaging program how to#
Smoke free text messaging program trial#
Smoke free text messaging program free#

вЂњTo make things easier for yourself, try having some distractions ready for cravings and think up some personal strategies to help in stressful situationsвЂќ вЂњwhy not write an action list of your reasons why you want to quit. The messages also promoted the use of the QUIT smoking cessation telephone helpline and nicotine replacement therapy.Д®xamples of intervention-group text messages

Smoke free text messaging program how to#

They prompted participants to get rid of cigarettes, ashtrays, and lighters, and to avoid environments where they would normally smoke, and encouraged participants to identify the challenges of quitting and plan how to overcome them. They provided positive feedback and emphasised the benefits achieved by quitting and provided information about the consequences of smoking, how to quit and stay quit, and how others would approve of quit success. Messages encouraged participants to persevere with the quit attempt and focused on their success so far. The intervention included motivational messages and behaviour-change techniques ( panel 1). Messages were developed with the input of smokers and smoking cessation professionals. They received five text messages a day for the first 5 weeks and then three a week for the next 26 weeks. Participants in the intervention group were asked to set a quit date within 2 weeks of randomisation.

Smoke free text messaging program free#

Medical research ethics committee approval was obtained from the St Thomas' Hospital Research Ethics Committee (COREC ref 06/q0702/169T).ДЄll participants were free to participate in any other smoking cessation service or support that they wished to use, and were offered the QUIT and National Health Service (NHS) smoking cessation helpline numbers.

Smoke free text messaging program trial#

Participants provided consent by sending a text message to the trial coordinating centre. Trial information was posted or emailed and was available online. Research assistants then telephoned respondents to assess eligibility and collect baseline data. Potential participants registered their interest by text message or online. We advertised the trial to smokers on the radio, bus billboards, and websites, and in newspapers, primary care centres, pharmacies, and smoking cessation services. 10 Smokers aged 16 years or older, willing to make an attempt to quit smoking in the next month, were eligible for inclusion if they owned a mobile phone and gave informed consent. The trial was undertaken in the UK and participants were randomised between Oct 15, 2007, and Jthe protocol was published in 2008.

Txt2stop is a single-blind, randomised, trial of personalised smoking cessation advice and support by mobile phone text messages.

In this study, we assessed the effects of the txt2stop mobile phone text messaging smoking cessation programme on biochemically verified continuous smoking abstinence at 6 months. 7ДЄlthough smoking cessation support delivered through mobile phone text messaging has been shown to increase self-reported smoking abstinence at 6 weeks, 8,9 the extent to which these early benefits are maintained at 6 months and can be validated biochemically needs further investigation. 6 In the UK, there are about 120 mobile phone subscriptions per 100 population, with ownership greater than 80% in all socioeconomic groups. In 2009, more than two-thirds of the world's population owned a mobile phone and 4в™І trillion text messages were sent. 4,5Д«ecause of the widespread ownership of mobile phones, fully automated smoking cessation support can be delivered to large numbers of people at low cost. 4,5 In this way, support can be delivered wherever the person is located, without them having to attend services, and can be interactive, allowing quitters to obtain extra help when needed. Motivational messages and behaviour-change methods used in face-to-face smoking cessation support can be modified for delivery via mobile phones with the content tailored to the age, sex, and ethnic group of the quitter. Mobile phone technology has the potential to provide personalised smoking cessation support. 3 Effective interventions to support smoking cessation are urgently needed. 1,2 In the UK, two-thirds of smokers report that they would like to stop. Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable death, and is estimated to cause more than 5 million deaths a year worldwide.