teenage Text Messages to help smokers quit
Loved ones…at the young tender age when still emergent oral motor habit patterns intersect with peer group and tension…. at that specific intersection in time and place cigarettes can become desirable….and a life long habit is born….

Loved ones now a new avenue has intersected and made a new and healing pathway for young people to kick the habit of smoking.

Text messages can help young smokers quit cigarettes. And can be a new weapon to combat escalation in youth smoking.

"This is a very encouraging result. We want to develop the concept further but this trial confirms that a text-based approach has the potential to be a powerful resource in reaching and helping young smokers," Dr Rodgers said. . "We view Stomp (N.Z. university test program) as just one of the first applications of the advances in mobile technology to help individuals become experts in managing their wellness.

There were 1705 young smokers from around New Zealand (who all wanted to quit) enrolled in Stomp. Half of them were in an "active" group and received intensive text intervention leading up to an agreed quit date and one month of free texting. This included regular personalised text messages that encouraged them to give up smoking or provided distraction at the key moment when tempted to light up. "There are several ways we think it worked," said Dr Rodgers.

"Free texting acted like "chewing gum for the fingers" and helped with distraction as people texted friends and family. We sent personalised texts on things like coping with urges to smoke, avoiding weight gain, and just plain general interest stuff on sports, music and fashion.

"Using text crave, participants could "pull" a message of support. Text polls and quizzes added further distraction.

A lot of people picked up on text buddies too, with people who were due to quit around the same day helping each other out." Typical messages of support were: "Who else r u giving up smoking 4? Write down 4 people who will get a kick outta u kicking butt. Your mum, dad, m8s?"

Dr Rodgers said the treatment effect was consistent in participants of different ages, sex, income level or geographic location - it could be particularly effective in helping young Maori who have been not been able to be reached via traditional smoking cessation programmes. Co-authors of the report, Dr Dale Bramley and Dr Tania Riddell from the School of Population Health at the University, helped develop message content that was of particular relevance to Maori. "Being able to tailor the programme to suit the needs of individuals was the key to its success amongst Maori participants," said Dr Bramley. "We produced a number of messages on topics such as Te Reo, Maori legends and Maori traditions." Quit rates remained high at six months, but Dr Rodgers said further study was needed to more closely quantify progress, extend the range of follow up testing and establish how success compared with other interventions over the longer term. Future studies would also look at the use of newer multimedia phones which offer further opportunity for providing quit information and distraction.

Loved Ones include the enlightend citizens of New Zealand and all their loved ones in your prayers.
- posted by Samuel Bell @ 11:22 PM