Text and video messages designed to help people quit smoking nearly
doubled the success rate for attempted quitters, compared to people who didn't
have such assistance, in a new review of several studies.
Researchers found nine percent of would-be quitters made it without
cigarettes for at least six months when reminded and encouraged through cell
phone messages, compared to five percent who went it alone. "We can't say
all text messaging interventions are going to work. It depends on how they were
developed, but it certainly shows there's reason to believe that mobile
phone-based interventions are a good option to think about adding to your
portfolio of smoking cessation services," said Robyn Whittaker, the lead
author of the review from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
Cell phone programs included in the review involved a text or video sent
to smokers each day for several weeks, preparing them for their designated quit
day with motivation and advice. Once the quit day arrived, participants often
received multiple messages a day for weeks, offering encouragement, tips on
getting through cravings and additional resources to get back on the horse after
a relapse.
In an earlier review of the research several years ago, Whittaker and
her colleagues found such interventions were helpful in the first few weeks of
quitting, but there wasn't enough evidence to say whether they had any impact
beyond that. In their latest analysis, published in The Cochrane Library, the
group was able to include three more studies - for a total of five - comparing
cell phone messaging to no extra help. Whittaker and other review authors were
involved in most of these original studies. The reports included a total of
9,100 smokers who were tracked for six months.
Out of 4,730 people assigned to a text or video messaging program, 444
managed to kick the habit. Among the 4,370 who didn't receive any additional
services, 240 stopped smoking for six months. "The numbers are still small
(for people who succeeded in quitting with help from cellular messaging), but
not so much smaller than other public health interventions like quit
lines," said Lorien Abroms, a community health researcher at the George
Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in
Washington, DC, who was not involved in the study.
Quit lines offer free, telephone-based counseling with a live person. Abroms
said help lines get about 14 percent of attempted quitters to succeed in
stopping smoking. Although texting might not be quite as effective, the mobile
phone programs are automated and easy to scale up for widespread use, Abroms
told Reuters Health. Whittaker said there's not enough evidence yet to confirm
whether those programs are cost-effective - but they're likely cheaper than
hiring counselors.
Some cell phone-based quitting aids are available for a fee, such as the
Text2Quit program that Abroms designed, which costs $29.99 for a four-month
subscription. Others are free through the U.S. government's SmokefreeTXT
program. Whittaker said although most people will continue to smoke even if
they try a texting program, it's important to offer smokers as many tools as
possible to help them through their attempts. "Quitting smoking is very
hard, of course. We know most people take several attempts to quit... so what
we're really trying to do is provide options for people so for each attempt
they can see what works for them," she told Reuters Health.
Source: Chicago Tribune
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