What are non-pharmacological interventions for smoking cessation in smokers?

Part II

Data Collection Procedures, Measurement Tools/Instruments, Results/Findings

Data Collection Procedures

A randomized controlled trial with two groups was performed in five Chinese cities. Between April 1 and July 27, 2021, participants were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. Smokers who used the app daily or weekly and were 18 or older were included. Smoking cessation therapy within the previous 30 days and a history of mental illness were ruled out (current or past). The ethics committee of Peking University’s Health Science Center has given its stamp of approval to this study. Supplement 1 contains the trial protocol; no modifications were made to the proposed techniques or outcome measures throughout the experiment. Before participants were randomly assigned, they all completed informed consent papers indicating that they understood the research and their rights to withdraw at any time. Only research staff members had access to any patient data. All patient information was encrypted before the statistical analysis was performed to ensure no identifying details would be revealed. Participants were not paid for their time, but those who returned for at least one follow-up visit received a little token of our appreciation in the form of a towel, umbrella, or cup. The CONSORT guidelines for reporting randomized controlled trials were used for this investigation.

Measurement Tools/Instruments

Methods of Data Collection

Participants’ results on the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (range, 0-10, with higher scores indicating more dependency) 13 were used to stratify the study’s random-block design. The participants’ test scores were divided into two groups: those with a low or moderate reliance on nicotine (0-6) and those with a strong dependence on nicotine (7 or more). For each block, 13 eligible individuals were randomly allocated to either the intervention or control group by simple randomization. Non-research-affiliated IT professionals generated a randomization sequence. The software was also utilized to achieve a more even distribution of demographic factors. All randomization and distribution were conducted mechanically and automatically by computer. The researchers and the subjects were unaware of which group they belonged to. Participants were required to complete the baseline questionnaire once randomly assigned to a group.

Result

There were a total of 722, all of the Chinese descent (mean [SD] age, 41.5 [12.7] years; 716 males [99.2%), who were split evenly between an intervention group (360 participants) and a control group (360 participants) (362 participants). 6.9% of the intervention group and 3.0% of the control group maintained biochemically validated continuous abstinence at 6 months (OR = 2.66; 95% CI = 1.21-6.83). Except for biochemically validated 24-hour point prevalence of abstinence at 1 month (adjusted OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.05-4.38), the intervention group had substantially higher abstinence rates among smokers with minimal nicotine dependency after controlling for variables. Only the biochemically validated 24-hour point prevalence of abstinence at 6 months was significant (adjusted OR, 4.17; 95% CI, 1.34-3.00) among smokers with moderate and severe nicotine dependency. Similarly, smokers with high stopping intention benefited more from the customized text message-based intervention than those with poor quitting intention.

Study Results/Findings

Participants

According to Lin et al. (2023), the average (standard deviation) age of all 722 participants was 41.512.7 years. Most of the study’s participants were male (716 of 722, 99.2%) and college-educated (440 of 721, 61.0%). All the participants were Chinese; 677 (93.8%) identified as Han, and 45 (6.2%) belonged to another Chinese ethnic group. 453 (or 64.3%) of the 704 participants were city dwellers. Of the total sample size of 720 people, 592 (82.2%) were daily smokers, whereas only 128 (17.8%) smoked once a week or less often. Both the intervention and control groups had similar demographic and smoking habits at the outset.

Reference

Lin, H., Liu, Y., Zhang, H., Zhu, Z., Zhang, X., & Chang, C. (2023). Assessment of a TextMessage–Based Smoking Cessation Intervention for Adult Smokers in China: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 6(3), e230301-e230301.