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Research paper
Txt2stop: a pilot randomised controlled trial of mobile phone-based smoking cessation support
  1. C Free1,
  2. R Whittaker2,
  3. R Knight3,
  4. T Abramsky1,
  5. A Rodgers2,
  6. I G Roberts1
  1. 1
    Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
  2. 2
    Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Auckland, New Zealand
  3. 3
    London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
  1. 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

Abstract

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.

https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.2008.026146

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    Footnotes

    • Competing interests: None.

    • Funding: Cancer Research UK.

    • Ethics approval: Ethics approval was obtained from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ethics committee.