Smokers trying to quit are twice as likely to be successful if their efforts are supported by text messages encouraging quit, according to researchers from the UK in the Lancet.
Caroline Free and a team from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine studied 5800 smokers who wanted to quit. 2915 smokers received SMS messages during the project, encouraging them to fight their addiction, 2885 participants received neutral SMS messages.
Motivational messages persuaded smokers to quit for a specific day, gave them confidence that they would be successful, provided advice on how to maintain their current weight, and helped to cope with craving. On average, the desire to smoke a cigarette takes less than 5 minutes. To forget about it, try to sip the drink slowly until the nicotine craving is over – this is the content of one of these texts.
Abstinence was checked with a test for nicotine in the saliva of the participants. Those who reported that they had quit but were found to continue to smoke were counted as smokers.
The results showed that people in the SMS-motivated group were twice as likely to quit smoking compared to the control group. According to the authors of the study, this type of method should be available as an additional help in addition to the existing methods of smoking cessation.
Texting is an easy, cheap and convenient method for smokers to help them quit the addiction. People described them as friendly and admitted that they helped them fight the temptation to reach for a cigarette, adds Dr. Free. (PAP)