SMS Turkey: Harnessing the power of TXT messaging to promote smoking cessation

Ybarra, Michele.(2010, February). SMS Turkey: Harnessing the power of TXT messaging to promote smoking cessation. Presented at the Tobacco Network Meeting, Bethesda, MD.

Summary:

This presentation discusses a research project being conducted in partnership by Internet Solutions for Kids and Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey called Cebiniz bırakın diyor. This project is funded by NIH / Fogerty Foundation (R01 TW007918). Cebiniz bırakın diyor was developed to explore the feasibility and acceptability of a text messaging-based smoking cessation program for adults.

Findings include:

1) Smoking cessation program had a final sample size of 75 participants.

2)Participant retention was high:

        – Few (1 participant) dropped out of the intervention;

        – Follow-up response rates were high: 63 participants provided carbon monoxide data at 12-week post-quit date.

3) Based upon an intent-to-treat analysis, 13% of participants (n=10) were quit at 12-weeks post-quit day (i.e., reported having 5 or fewer cigarettes since their quit date and had a CO reading of 8ppm or less).

5) Among those who completed the 12-week follow up survey and were still smoking(n=46), the number of cigarettes smoked per day was reduced by an average of 5.1 cigarettes (SD: 6.8 cigarettes) since study enrollment.

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