Smoking Cessation Via Text Messaging: Feasibility Testing of Stop My Smoking USA (SMS USA)

Center for Innovative Public Health Research

Status: Completed

Conditions: Smoking Cessation

Treatments: Behavioral: SMS USA

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT01516632

5R21CA135669 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

R21CA135669

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators developed a text messaging-based smoking cessation program called SMS (Stop My Smoking) USA. It was tailored for the unique needs and smoking habits of young adults. The investigators hypothesized that those in the SMS USA intervention would be significantly more likely to be quit at 6-months compared to the attention-matched control group.

Full description

About one in four young adults are current smokers. Although over half report the desire to quit or cut down, quit rates in this age group have remained stagnant in the last ten years. Text messaging may represent a compelling intervention delivery method for smoking cessation for young adults because it is a medium they have widely adopted. Cell phone interventions also are unique because of their 'always on' capability - interventions are never far from the young adult's reach and they are received automatically instead of requiring the participant to initiate contact in order to receive the information. Dr. Ybarra, along with Drs. Holtrop and Graham, have developed SMS Turkey, an innovative behavioral intervention that uses text messaging to deliver CBT-based smoking cessation information to participants daily. Successful use of text messaging to deliver smoking cessation programs has been reported by Rodgers and colleagues in New Zealand and a replication study they are leading in the United Kingdom. These data provide optimism for the feasibility of text messaging-based smoking cessation programs in the United States. Using qualitative methods to inform design and content, and quantitative methods to assess the feasibility of the program, we propose to design and test SMS (Stop My Smoking) USA, a cell-phone based smoking cessation program for young adults ages 18-25. This innovative smoking cessation program uses technology widely adopted by young adults, an under-targeted population, to deliver a proactive, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based intervention. Our multidisciplinary team of researchers brings together expertise in Internet health and the design of tailored smoking cessation interventions.

Enrollment: 164 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 25 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 28 cigarettes or more per week (at least 4/day) and on at least 6 days/week.
• Owning a text-capable cell phone and cognizant of how to send and receive text messages
• Currently enrolled or intending to enroll in an unlimited text messaging plan
• Enrolled with a cell phone carrier that was compatible with the program software
• Agree to verification of smoking cessation status by a significant other
• Able to read and write in English
• Informed consent

Exclusion criteria

None

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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164 participants in 2 patient groups

SMS USA

Experimental group

Description:

The 6-week smoking cessation intervention

Treatment:

Behavioral: SMS USA

Attention matched control

No Intervention group

Description:

Messages aimed at improving one's sleep and increasing one's fitness, along with general messages about the most well known health dangers of smoking. Messages sent on the same schedule as the intervention group.