Combating Tobacco Use in the United States Army

Researchers in the M. D. Anderson Department of Behavioral Science are developing a new video game program for young U.S. Army service members. The game addresses stopping and preventing the use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Soldiers (ages 18-35 years) stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, who are not scheduled to be mobilized for a 13-month period, will be invited to take part in the study.

The Study Groups:

If you choose to take part in this study, you will be assigned to a type of study intervention. The personnel companies on-base have been randomly assigned (as in the flip of a coin) to offer participating service members 1 of the following 2 programs: either the educational video game (called the "intervention"), or pamphlets on stopping tobacco use (called "standard care"). Each company will receive only 1 of the 2 programs, and all participating service members in the same company will receive the same program. Each company has an equal chance of being assigned to either program.

Intervention:

Participants in the intervention group will have a month to use the educational anti-tobacco video game located in areas that will provide convenient access. The game will be made available using an arcade-type kiosk which houses the computer game. After playing the video game on the kiosk for three 30-minute sessions, you will then be given a CD-ROM disc of the game to use as needed. After finishing these three 30-minute computer sessions, you will also receive a series of printed materials that go along with the computer sessions.