Tobacco control in the 21st century faces many of the same challenges as in the past, but in different contexts, settings and enabled by powerful new tools including those delivered by information and communication technologies via computer, videocasts, and mobile handsets to the world. Building on the power of electronic networks, Web-assisted tobacco interventions (WATI) provide a vehicle for delivering tobacco prevention, cessation, social support and training opportunities on-demand and...

Background: The prevalence of smoking is very high among methadone users. As a method of delivering health education, computers can be utilized effectively. However computer-assisted education in methadone users has not been evaluated systematically. Objective: This study was aimed at assessing feasibility and patient acceptance of an interactive educational module of a multi-component smoking cessation counseling computer program for former illicit drug users treated in an outpatient...

Background: While most young people who smoke want to quit, few access cessation support services. Mobile phone–based cessation programs are ideal for young people: mobile phones are the most common means of peer communication, and messages can be delivered in an anonymous manner, anywhere, anytime. Following the success of our text messaging smoking cessation program, we developed an innovative multimedia mobile phone smoking cessation intervention. Objective: The aim of the study was to...

Background: Previous research has found that current smokers are less likely to have access to the Internet than nonsmokers. As access to the Internet continues to expand, does this finding remain true? Also, how many smokers are interested in Web-assisted tobacco interventions (WATIs)? These questions are important to determine the potential role that WATIs might play in promoting tobacco cessation. Objectives: The aims of the study were to determine whether smokers are less likely than...

Background: Web-based programs for health promotion, disease prevention, and disease management often experience high rates of attrition. There are 3 questions which are particularly relevant to this issue. First, does engagement with program content predict long-term outcomes? Second, which users are most likely to drop out or disengage from the program? Third, do particular intervention strategies enhance engagement? Objective: To determine: (1) whether engagement (defined by the number...

Background: The dental visit is a unique opportunity for tobacco control. Despite evidence of effectiveness in dental settings, brief provider-delivered cessation advice is underutilized. Objective: To evaluate an Internet-delivered intervention designed to increase implementation of brief provider advice for tobacco cessation in dental practice settings. Methods: Dental practices (N = 190) were randomized to the intervention website or wait-list control. Pre-intervention and after 8...

Background: The Internet has great potential to provide assistance to millions of smokers who seek help with quitting smoking. Objective: The goals of this study were to assess the content and the quality of smoking cessation treatments most likely to be encountered by smokers seeking treatment on the Internet and to examine differences in quality between current websites and those reviewed in 2004. Methods: Internet searches for smoking cessation were designed to mimic the search patterns...

Background: Phone-based tobacco cessation programs have been proven effective and widely adopted. Web-based solutions exist; however, the evidence base is not yet well established. Many cessation treatments are commercially available, but few integrate the phone and Web for delivery and no published studies exist for integrated programs. Objective: This paper describes a comprehensive integrated phone/Web tobacco cessation program and the characteristics, experience, and outcomes of smokers...

Background: Smoking cessation remains a significant public health problem. Innovative interventions that use the Internet have begun to emerge that offer great promise in reaching large numbers of participants and encouraging widespread behavior change. To date, the relatively few controlled trials of Web-based smoking cessation programs have been limited by short follow-up intervals. Objective: We describe the 6-month follow-up results of a randomized controlled trial in which participants...

Background: Although many smokers seek Internet-based cessation assistance, few studies have experimentally evaluated long-term cessation rates among cigarette smokers who receive Internet assistance in quitting. Objective: The purpose of this study is to describe long-term smoking cessation rates associated with 6 different Internet-based cessation services and the variation among them, to test the hypothesis that interactive and tailored Internet services yield higher long-term quit rates...

Background: Happy Ending (HE) is an intense 1-year smoking cessation program delivered via the Internet and cell phone. HE consists of more than 400 contacts by email, Web pages, interactive voice response, and short message service technology. HE includes a craving helpline and a relapse prevention system, providing just-in-time therapy. All the components of the program are fully automated. Objective: The objectives were to describe the rationale for the design of HE, to assess the...

Background: To improve the overall impact (reach x efficacy) of cessation treatments and to reduce the population prevalence of smoking, innovative strategies are needed that increase consumer demand for and use of cessation treatments. Given that 12 million people search for smoking cessation information each year, online advertising may represent a cost-efficient approach to reach and recruit online smokers to treatment. Online ads can be implemented in many forms, and surveys...

Background: The QuitCoach, an "expert system" program of tailored advice for smoking cessation developed in Australia, has been publicly available since July 2003, albeit with limited promotion. The program is designed to be used on multiple occasions, guiding the user through the process of smoking cessation in the manner of a "life coach". Email reminders are sent at scheduled intervals to prompt optimal and repeated use. Objectives: The aims of this study were to characterize QuitCoach...

Background: Demand for online information and help exceeds most other forms of self-help. Web-assisted tobacco interventions (WATIs) offer a potentially low-cost way to reach millions of smokers who wish to quit smoking and to test various forms of online assistance for use/utilization and user satisfaction. Objectives: Our primary aim was to determine the utilization of and satisfaction with 2 versions of a smoking cessation website (smokefree.gov), one of which included an asynchronous...

Background: The association between greater utilization of Web-assisted tobacco interventions and increased abstinence rates is well recognized. However, there is little information on how utilization of specific website features influences quitting. Objective: To determine the association between utilization of informational, interactive, and online community resources (eg. bulletin boards) and abstinence rates, with the broader objective to identify potential strategies for improving...