Building Capacity and Promoting Smoking Cessation in the Community Via "Quit to Win" Contest 2024: a Randomised Controlled Trial of a Brief Behavioural Economic Intervention

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to test a brief behavioral economic intervention to help smokers in the community quit smoking. The study focuses on increasing the use of free smoking cessation services in Hong Kong, which are effective but underused. Researchers want to see if automatically referring smokers to these services, instead of requiring them to opt in, improves quitting rates. The trial is part of the 15th "Quit to Win" Smoke-free Community Campaign organized by the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. Participants are divided into three groups: one group receives brief advice plus automatic referral with behavioral economic mobile messages, another receives brief advice plus automatic referral without messaging, and the third group receives brief advice with the usual opt-in referral. The brief advice follows a five-step model (ask, warn, advise, refer, do-it-again). Mobile messages based on behavioral economics are sent for 3 months to encourage quitting. Those automatically referred are connected to cessation services unless they choose to opt out. During the study, researchers will track participants' smoking status using biochemical tests and self-reports at 3 and 6 months after joining. They will measure tobacco abstinence and quit attempts, along with use of cessation services. Participants must have a smartphone for messaging and be able to read and communicate in Chinese. The study involves random assignment to groups, with no masking. It starts in June 2024 and runs until May 2025.

Brief Behavioural Economic Intervention for Smoking Cessation