Smokefree

Description:

Smokefree.gov offers a wide range of information and planning tools to aid quit attempts. It provides links to supporting apps, live contact with professional support via text message or internet chat, articles about common challenges when quitting, quizzes and a tool allowing users to set a quit date and build a quit plan. 

Service URL:

https://smokefree.gov/

Agency Responsible:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute.

Details

Format:

Website.

Intervention Type:

Educational (primarily educational material or psychoeducation). as well as motivational content and skills training

Course Length:

Other. no set length

Support Option:

Clinical support. via text message or online instant messaging

Target Audience

Primary Category:

Smoking.

Target Audience:

Adult. who want to quit or to help someone else quit

Languages:

English and Spanish.

Access

Fee:

Free.

Access:

Open: No registration required.

Contact Details:

NCISmokefreeTeam@mail.nih.gov

Research evidence

Research Trials:

2

Research RCTs:

0

Outcome Summary:

One study (1) has been carried out with N=1034 and a factorial design looking at the effectiveness of five interventions including 1. the Smokefree website, 2. telephone counselling, 3. e-mails containing information and motivational content, 4. a brochure with a detailed guide on planning a quit attempt and avoiding relapse, and 5. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), including two weeks worth of lozenges. For each participant in the study, each of these interventions could be in either the "on" (active) or "off" (control) position. The control condition for the Smokefree website was a pared down "lite" version of the website, containing only information and no skills training. The active Smokefree website was found to have a significant effect on abstinence at 3 months, but only when not combined with the active e-mail messaging intervention. The only other intervention to produce a significant effect on abstinence was NRT. This provides some evidence that the Smokefree website may be effective in promoting abstinence from smoking. 

In another study (2) N=1309 users of Smokefree were followed in an open trial over a period of 12 months. The study found that the length of time participants spent engaged with the program was significantly associated with abstinence at 12 months. Those who were still logging into the site in the 5th week had a significant 48% increased likelihood of 30 day abstinence compared to those who did not log in after the first week. This suggests the possibility of a dose response relationship for this program.  

Recommended rating, reviewer 1:

Recommended rating, reviewer 2:

Read more about Beacon's Smiley Rating System.

Research paper citations

(1) Fraser, D., Kobinsky, K., Smith, S. S., Kramer, J., Theobald, W. E., & Baker, T. B. (2014). Five population-based interventions for smoking cessation: a MOST trial. Translational behavioral medicine, 4(4), 382-390.

(2) Bricker, J. B., Sridharan, V., Zhu, Y., Mull, K. E., Heffner, J. L., Watson, N. L., ... & Di, C. (2018). Trajectories of 12-Month Usage Patterns for Two Smoking Cessation Websites: Exploring How Users Engage Over Time. Journal of medical Internet research, 20(4), e10143.