Purpose To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a text message–based smoking cessation intervention in China. Design Randomized control trial with a 6-month follow-up assessment of smoking status. Setting Zhejiang, Heilongjiang, and Shaanxi provinces in China. Subjects 8,000 adult smokers in China who use Nokia Life Tools and participated in Phase II (smoking education via text message) of the study. Intervention High Frequency Text Contact (HFTC) group received one to three messages daily containing smoking cessation advice, encouragement, and health education information. Low Frequency Text Contact (LFTC) group received one weekly message with smoking health effects information. Measures Our primary outcome was smoking status 0, 1, 3, and 6 months post-intervention. Secondary outcomes include participant perceptions of the HFTC intervention, and factors associated with smoking cessation among HFTC participants. Analysis Descriptive and chi-square analyses were conducted to assess smoking status and acceptability. Factors associated with quitting were assessed using multiple logistic regression analyses. Results Quit rates were high in both HFTC and LFTC groups (HFTC: 0 month 27.9%, 1 month 30.5%, 3 months 26.7%, 6 months 27.7%; LFTC: 0 month 26.7%, 1 month 30.4%, 3 months 28.1%, 6 months 27.7), with no significant difference between the two groups in an intent-to-treat analysis. Attitudes towards the HFTC intervention were largely positive. Conclusion Our findings suggest that a text message–based smoking cessation intervention can be successfully delivered in China and is acceptable to Chinese smokers, but further research is needed to assess the potential impact of this type of intervention.
(1) This study suggests that moderate drinking may influence the quit smoking process. Further study is needed to better understand the implications of moderate drinking for smoking cessation. (2) Providing information alone may not be effective in helping people abstain from drinking during smoking cessation, especially if moderate drinkers do not perceive their behavior as reducing their chance for a successful quit attempt. Tailoring smoking cessation interventions to include strategies to reduce moderate-to-heavy alcohol consumption may improve smoking cessation outcomes among alcohol users attempting to quit smoking.
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