Quit smoking with SMS

‘This is it! – QUIT DAY, throw away your fags. Today is the start of being QUIT forever, you can do it!’ This and other motivational text messages helped adults from the UK quit smoking in a recent trial. The texts also told recipients where to go for help, how to beat cravings, and what to do after a lapse. After six months of texting, including five a day for the first five weeks, one in 10 recipients managed to quit completely (10.7%). Controls did half as well (4.9%, relative risk of quitting for intervention group 2.20 (95% CI 1.80 - 2.68)). Controls received fewer texts, which were unrelated to smoking, such as ‘Thanks for taking part! Without your input the study could not have gone ahead!’

Researchers verified abstinence with salivary concentrations of cotinine, and also checked that the texts didn’t cause any extra traffic accidents or thumb pain. Almost 600 adults took part. All wanted to quit, and most had tried before.

Two-thirds of the world’s population now own a mobile phone, say the researchers, and scaling up an intervention like this could be relatively straightforward. A barrage of texts seems to work about as well as other behavioural approaches such as counselling. Cost-effectiveness analyses are under way.

A 10% quit rate is low, says the accompanying editorial, but every little helps. Researchers should persevere with an approach that has the potential to reach all sections of society equally. Mobile phone ownership is largely independent of income and social class, unlike smoking.

Free C et al. Lancet 2011;378:49-55.

BRIDGET FARHAM