Testing Different Anti-smoking Messages Among Chinese Young Adult Smokers and Nonsmokers

NCT ID: NCT06730646

Last Updated: 2025-10-14

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1541 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-09-01

Study Completion Date

2025-10-01

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

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.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

In this study, the investigators will examine the effectiveness of different anti-smoking themes in reducing intention to smoke among Chines young adults. The study will recruit 1500 adults aged 18-25 years old, including 750 current smokers and 750 non-smokers, evenly split between male and female.

The study will be conducted through a self-administered, web-assisted online survey software. Participants will be asked to consent to participate in this study via a consent form presented at the beginning of the survey. Consented participants will be randomized to one of six conditions (each represents a level of the independent variable: anti-smoking message theme): 1) Health effects 2) Tobacco industry manipulation 3) Mental health 4) Secondhand smoke 5) Social acceptability 6) Control messages with no cigarette-related content.

The study has two sessions. In session 1, participants will complete a 20-minute survey. The survey will begin with questions assessing demographic characteristics. Then participants will be shown intervention or control messages (watch three 30-second video in each condition), and beliefs and future intention to smoke cigarettes will be assessed.

Two weeks after session 1, participants will be asked to complete a 5-minute survey in session 2 of the study. The survey will measure participants' recall of the messages and smoking behaviors in the past two weeks after message exposure.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Smoking Prevention

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Health effects

Participants will receive messages with information about smoking-related diseases.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Health effects

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about the smoking-related diseases during the survey data collection.

Tobacco industry manipulation

Participants will receive messages with information about how the tobacco industry uses targeted marketing and manipulative tactics aimed at youth and young adults.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Tobacco industry manipulation

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

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.

Secondhand smoke

Participants will receive messages with information about secondhand smoke exposure.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Secondhand smoke

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about the risks of secondhand smoke exposure during the survey data collection.

Mental Health

Participants will receive messages with information about the effects of smoking on mental health.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Mentral health

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about the effects of smoking on mental health during the survey data collection.

Social acceptability

Participants will receive messages that portray smoking as socially unacceptable in China.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Social acceptability

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about how smoking is socially unacceptable in China during the survey data collection.

Control

Participants will receive messages about bottled water which should have no impact on the outcomes of interest.

Group Type OTHER

Control

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

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.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Health effects

Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about the smoking-related diseases during the survey data collection.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Tobacco industry manipulation

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.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Secondhand smoke

Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about the risks of secondhand smoke exposure during the survey data collection.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Mentral health

Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about the effects of smoking on mental health during the survey data collection.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Social acceptability

Participants in this arm will watch 3 short videos about how smoking is socially unacceptable in China during the survey data collection.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Control

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.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* • 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

Exclusion Criteria

* None
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

25 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Georgia State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Di Pei

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Georgia State university

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Site Status

Online

Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States China

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

H24245

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Smoking Cessation Program for the Older Smokers
NCT06234475 ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING NA
Promoting Smoking Cessation in Campus
NCT05777005 RECRUITING NA
Chewing Gum for Smoking Cessation
NCT06801860 COMPLETED NA