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

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Smoking, Tobacco

• Registration Number: NCT06762756
• Lead Sponsor: Katherine Sawyer

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.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-09-01
• Primary Completion: 2023-02-28
• Study Completion: 2023-02-28
• Study First Submitted: 2024-12-19
• Status Verified: 2025-01
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-01-06
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-01-07
• Study First Posted: 2025-01-08
• Last Update Posted: 2025-01-09

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 631

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

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Motivation to stop smoking	At baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels	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".

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Intention to Quit	Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels	Participants were asked their intention to quit smoking "Are you planning to quit smoking within the next month?" using a 10-point visual analogue scale, where 1 indicates low intention to quit and 10 indicates higher intention to quit smoking
Quitting Self-Efficacy	Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels	To measure participants' self-efficacy to quit smoking, participants responded to the questions "Overall, how confident are you that you can stop smoking within the next month?" on a 5-point scale 1 ('not at all') to 5 ('completely confident') and "For me cutting down on the number of cigarettes that I smoke in the next month would be...." On a scale off 1 ('very difficult') to 5 ('very easy'). The mean score across the two items was calculated, with a higher score indicating higher self-efficacy
Smoking Beliefs	Measured at baseline and follow up immediately after viewing the labels	Participants rated their agreement to the statements "smoking helps people relax", "smoking helps to reduce stress", "smoking helps to keep weight down" "smoking increases social comfort" "those who smoke are more popular" and "second hand smoke is not harmful" using a 5-point scale from 1 ('not at all') to 5 ('a lot'). The mean score across the five items was calculated, with a higher score indicating more favourable beliefs towards smoking
Attention	Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels	Participants rated two statements 'these labels are worth remembering' and 'these labels grabbed my attention' on a 5-point scale from 1 ('not at all') to 5 ('a lot'), mean score across the two items was calculated, with a higher score indicating greater attention
Affective Reactions	Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels	To measure affective reactions to the health labels we used the Self-Assessment Manakin (SAM, (Bradley \& Lang, 1994)). Participants rated their affective reactions: valence, arousal, and dominance on a 9-point visual analogue scale. Scales for valence range from 1 'unpleasant' to 9 'pleasant', arousal ranged from 1 'calm' to 9 'excited', and dominance ranged from 1 'controlled' to 9 'in control' with 5 as neutral for all items
Believability	Measured at follow up immediately after viewing the labels	Perceptions of believability of the health label were measured using the question "How believable are these health labels?", participants rated this on a 5-point scale from 1 ('not at all') to 5 ('a lot')

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Bath; 🇬🇧 Bath, United Kingdom