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

NCT ID: NCT06762756

Last Updated: 2025-01-09

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

631 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-09-01

Study Completion Date

2023-02-28

Brief Summary

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

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.

Detailed Description

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

Conditions

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

Smoking, Tobacco

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

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.
Primary Study Purpose

OTHER

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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

Positive mental health labels

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"

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Messages on tobacco packaging labels

Intervention Type 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.

Positive physical health labels

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"

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Messages on tobacco packaging labels

Intervention Type 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

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"

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Messages on tobacco packaging labels

Intervention Type 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.

Interventions

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

Messages on tobacco packaging labels

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.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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

Inclusion Criteria

1. Self-reported weekly tobacco smokers
2. Aged at least 18 years
3. Could read English

Exclusion Criteria

Did not smoke tobacco at least weekly
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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

Katherine Sawyer

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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

Katherine Sawyer

PhD Student

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Gemma Taylor, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Bath

Locations

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

University of Bath

Bath, , United Kingdom

Site Status

Countries

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

United Kingdom

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

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.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40610984 (View on PubMed)

Study Documents

Access uploaded study-related documents such as protocols, statistical analysis plans, or lay summaries.

Document Type: Individual Participant Data Set

The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available in the University of Bath repository.

View Document

Document Type: Analytic Code

Scripts are available on Open Science Framework

View Document

Related Links

Access external resources that provide additional context or updates about the study.

https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/3C75J

Pre-registered protocol on Open Science Framework

Other Identifiers

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

21-244

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

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

Motivating Change in Aging Smokers
NCT05194917 COMPLETED NA
Effective Ads for Quitting Smoking
NCT06485479 COMPLETED NA
Health Communications for Adults Smoking Nondaily
NCT07296848 NOT_YET_RECRUITING NA
Nonsmokers Helping Smokers Quit
NCT02010697 COMPLETED NA