Path2Quit Tobacco Intervention For African Americans

SmokefreeTXT is a 6-8 week fully automated text-based cessation intervention. The program is free to U.S. subscribers who have a mobile phone, and is available on smokefree.gov or by texting "QUIT" to short code 47848. Participants are encouraged to set a quit date within the next 14 days, followed by count-down messages leading to the quit date. Starting on the quit date, participants receive 6 weeks of intervention text messages, and assessment questions (mood, cravings, smoking status). The message library contains 166 messages and 41 behavior change techniques,40 which are delivered at the greatest frequency during the first 2 weeks and taper over time. When in need of assistance, participants can text one of 3 keywords (MOOD, CRAVE, or SLIP) to receive a relevant message from the system. Participants can opt-out by texting STOP at any time. With informed consent, we will be able to access the SmokefreeTXT data for these participants.

Path2Quit will deliver 20-60 second video clips by multimedia messaging service. The message library will include 75-170 messages. Written text messages will be limited to brief phrases to indicate the topic of the video. Messages will be pushed to participants in the morning, in the afternoon, and 2 hours before the reported usual bedtime. The cultural adaptations will be infused throughout the video segments. Topics include deep structure: race and smoking in general, African American smoking statistics; norms for smoking; concerns about nicotine replacement/medication; family/collectivism; unique stressors; racism/discrimination, depression; co-morbid addiction; neighborhood/environmental influences; menthol cigarettes; race-specific weight issues and concerns; and working as a community against the tobacco industry.