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Tobacco Control 2009;18:88-91; doi:10.1136/tc.2008.026146
Copyright © 2009 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

RESEARCH PAPERS

Txt2stop: a pilot randomised controlled trial of mobile phone-based smoking cessation support

C Free1, R Whittaker2, R Knight3, T Abramsky1, A Rodgers2, I G Roberts1

1 Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
2 Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Auckland, New Zealand
3 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

Correspondence to:
Dr Caroline Free, Nutrition and Public Health Intervention Research Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK; caroline.free{at}lshtm.ac.uk

Aim: To conduct a pilot randomised controlled trial of mobile phone-based smoking cessation support intervention for the UK population.

Design: Randomised controlled trial (txt2stop).

Setting: Community.

Participants: 200 participants responding to radio, poster and leaflet-based promotions regarding the trial.

Main outcome measures: The response rate for the outcome measures planned for the main trial. Participants’ qualitative responses to open-ended questions about the intervention content. Secondary outcomes were the outcomes planned for the main trial including the point prevalence of self-reported smoking at 4 weeks and pooled effect estimate for the short-term results for the STOMP and txt2stop trials.

Results: The response rate at 4 weeks was 96% and at 6 months was 92%. The results at 4 weeks show a doubling of self-reported quitting relative risk (RR) 2.08 (95% CI 1.11 to 3.89), 26% vs 12%. The pooled effect estimate combining txt2stop and a previous New Zealand trial in the short term is RR 2.18 (95% CI 1.79 to 2.65).

Conclusions: Mobile phone-based smoking cessation is an innovative means of delivering smoking cessation support, which doubles the self-reported quit rate in the short term. It could represent an important, but as yet largely unused, medium to deliver age-appropriate public health measures. The long-term effect of this mobile phone-based smoking cessation support will be established by a large randomised controlled trial currently in recruitment.


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