Testing Different Anti-smoking Messages Among Chinese Young Adult Smokers and Nonsmokers
1 other identifier
interventional
1,541
2 countries
2
Brief Summary
Young adults are particularly vulnerable to psychological distress during the transition from adolescence to adulthood, making them more susceptible to developing persistent substance use. The tobacco industry capitalizes on this vulnerability by using marketing tactics to promote tobacco initiation and facilitate the progression from experimental tobacco use to long-term use. In China, where the average age of starting daily smoking is 21.1 years old, the number of current young adult smokers exceeds 29 million. It is crucial to develop effective communication messages to counter the tobacco industry's marketing strategies and protect the health of young adults in China. This project aims to test the effects of different anti-smoking message themes among Chinese young adults. In this online randomized clinical trial, participants will be randomly assigned to one of five antismoking message conditions. The investigators will compare the effects of these themes with each other and with the control condition.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Sep 2025
Shorter than P25 for not_applicable
2 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
December 8, 2024
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
December 12, 2024
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
September 1, 2025
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
October 1, 2025
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
October 1, 2025
CompletedOctober 14, 2025
October 1, 2025
1 month
December 8, 2024
October 9, 2025
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Intention to use tobacco
A five-item scale measuring future intentions to smoke cigarettes and other forms of tobacco over the next year. Response options: from 1 (very unlikely) to 5 (very likely). Higher scores represent stronger intention to use tobacco.
Immediately after message exposure
Secondary Outcomes (5)
Perceived harm of smoking
Immediately after message exposure
Perceived Message Effectiveness
Immediately after message exposure
Quit intention
Immediately after message exposure
Smoking behavior
Two weeks after message exposure
Intention to use tobacco in follow-up test
Two weeks after message exposure
Study Arms (6)
Health effects
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will receive messages with information about smoking-related diseases.
Tobacco industry manipulation
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will receive messages with information about how the tobacco industry uses targeted marketing and manipulative tactics aimed at youth and young adults.
Secondhand smoke
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will receive messages with information about secondhand smoke exposure.
Mental Health
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will receive messages with information about the effects of smoking on mental health.
Social acceptability
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will receive messages that portray smoking as socially unacceptable in China.
Control
OTHERParticipants will receive messages about bottled water which should have no impact on the outcomes of interest.
Interventions
Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about the smoking-related diseases during the survey data collection.
Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about how the tobacco industry uses targeted marketing and manipulative tactics aimed at youth and young adults during the survey data collection.
Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about the risks of secondhand smoke exposure during the survey data collection.
Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about the effects of smoking on mental health during the survey data collection.
Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about how smoking is socially unacceptable in China during the survey data collection.
Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about drinking bottled water during the survey data collection. These messages display specific water products and describe hydration as a healthy activity.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Aged between 18-25 years old
- Current residency in China
- Current smokers - having smoked at least 100 cigarettes in a lifetime and currently smoking every day or some days
- Nonsmokers - having not smoked 100 cigarettes in a lifetime and do not currently smoke cigarettes
- Can to read, speak, and understand Mandarin Chinese
You may not qualify if:
- None
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (2)
Georgia State university
Atlanta, Georgia, 30303, United States
Online
Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200433, China
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT
- Purpose
- PREVENTION
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Postdoctoral Research Associate
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
December 8, 2024
First Posted
December 12, 2024
Study Start
September 1, 2025
Primary Completion
October 1, 2025
Study Completion
October 1, 2025
Last Updated
October 14, 2025
Record last verified: 2025-10
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share