Impact of Positive Mental Vs. Physical Health Messaging on Motivation to Stop Smoking

NCT06762756 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 21-244
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 631
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study tested whether positive messages on tobacco packaging about the mental health benefits of quitting smoking could help motivate people to stop smoking. It compared three types of labels: ones focusing on mental health benefits, ones focusing on physical health benefits, and blank labels. The experiment involved 631 people who smoke who were randomly shown one of these label types on an online survey platform. Participants' motivation to quit smoking was measured before and after viewing the labels.

Conditions

Smoking, Tobacco

Keywords

Smoking; Smoking cessation; Public health; Mental health; Tobacco warning labels

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Motivation to stop smoking

  Motivation to stop smoking was measured using the Motivation to Stop Scale (MTSS). The MTSS asks participants "Which of the following best describes you?" with the following ordinal scale: 1) "I don't want to stop smoking"; 2) "I think I should stop smoking but don't really want to"; 3) "I want to stop smoking but haven't thought about when"; 4) "I REALLY want to stop smoking but I don't know when I will"; 5) "I want to stop smoking and hope to soon"; 6) "I REALLY want to stop smoking and intend to in the next 3 months"; 7) "I REALLY want to stop smoking and intend to in the next month".

  At baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Intention to Quit

  Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels

• Quitting Self-Efficacy

  Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels

• Smoking Beliefs

  Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels

• Attention

  Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels

• Affective Reactions

  Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels

Study Arms (3)

Positive mental health labels

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants viewed four messages, formatted as tobacco packaging labels, communicating the benefits of smoking cessation for mental health. The messages were: * "Quitting smoking improves your mental health" * "Quitting smoking reduces feelings of depression" * "Quitting smoking reduces feelings of anxiety" * "Quitting smoking can improve your mood"

Behavioral: Messages on tobacco packaging labels

Positive physical health labels

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants viewed four messages, formatted as tobacco packaging labels, communicating the benefits of smoking cessation for physical health. The messages were: * "Quitting smoking improves your health" * "Quitting smoking reduces risk your risk of having a heart attack" * "Quitting smoking reduces shortness of breath and coughing" * "Quitting smoking can improve your oral health"

Behavioral: Messages on tobacco packaging labels

Blank labels

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Participants viewed four blank messages, formatted as tobacco packaging labels. The messages were: * Blank template * Template with "Example" * Template with "Template" * Template with "Image, Text"

Behavioral: Messages on tobacco packaging labels

Interventions

Messages on tobacco packaging labels BEHAVIORAL

The intervention was messages of the benefits of smoking cessation formatted as tobacco packaging labels with three conditions. Participants viewed the messages online. There were four messages in each condition. The intervention was informed by relevant patient and public groups.

Blank labels; Positive mental health labels; Positive physical health labels

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Self-reported weekly tobacco smokers
• Aged at least 18 years
• Could read English

You may not qualify if:

• Did not smoke tobacco at least weekly

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Katherine Sawyer: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Bath

Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Sawyer K, Hanafi A, Freeman TP, Burke C, Adams S, Aveyard P, Jacobsen P, Taylor G. What is the effect of presenting evidence of the mental vs physical health benefits of quitting smoking on motivation to stop smoking? An online randomised controlled experiment. BMC Public Health. 2025 Jul 3;25(1):2331. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22795-0.

  PMID: 40610984 DERIVED

Related Links

• Pre-registered protocol on Open Science Framework

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Tobacco Smoking; Smoking; Smoking Cessation; Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Tobacco Use; Health Behavior; Personal Satisfaction

Study Officials

• Gemma Taylor, PhD

  University of Bath

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: PhD Student

Model Details: The intervention was tobacco warning labels with three conditions: i) positive mental health labels; ii) positive physical health labels; iii) blank labels. Participants were randomly allocated to one label condition using Qualtrics embedded randomisation function, stratified by mental health status, and viewed four labels for at least 10 seconds each.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 19, 2024
• First Posted: January 8, 2025
• Study Start: September 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: February 28, 2023
• Study Completion: February 28, 2023
• Last Updated: January 9, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Data will be available on publication and indefinitely
• Access Criteria: Scripts are available at https://osf.io/v5deq/?view\ only=d5dd1f5903a0480d94402c7c6528c6a4

Locations

GB (1)