Text messages help people quit smoking when the texts are motivating them to stick to their goal, according to new research.
The new study, called the “txt2stop” trial, is the first to use biomedical testing to verify quit rates, and found that smokers are twice as likely to quit when they receive texts urging them to remain smoke-free.
Rates of smoking are rising, with tobacco predicted to kill 8 million people by 2030. The study researchers say they their findings may suggest an easy way to improve levels of health by helping more people quit smoking.
The study put 5,800 smokers in Britain who wanted to quit in either the txt2stop program or to a control group who received non-motivational texts. The motivational texts included encouraging messages, advice on avoiding weight gain while quitting, and tips to deal with cravings. Saliva tests were used to verify whether those who said they had stopped smoking had actually quit. The results showed that participants in the txt2stop group had a quitting success rate of 10.7 percent compared to the control group, where only 4.9 percent quit.
According to Caroline Free of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, lead author of the study, "to scale up the txt2stop intervention for delivery at a national or international level would be technically easy," Reuters quoted. She says it would also be simple, cheap, and “likely cost-effective.”
Free added in a statement, "text messages are a very convenient way for smokers to receive support to quit. People described txt2stop as like having a 'friend' encouraging them or an 'angel on their shoulder'. It helped people resist the temptation to smoke."
