Social media offers 2.5 times higher chance of quitting smoking
Smokers are 2.5 times more likely to quit smoking after three months if they enjoyed treatment on Facebook instead of a regular quit program.
This is the conclusion of a recent research paper from the University of California , in which a normal cessation program was compared with social media interventions.
Skeptics remained abstinent
For the study, researchers developed the “Tobacco Status Project,” a 90-day motivational program in which a portion of subjects were assigned to closed Facebook groups tailored to their readiness to quit. The intervention there consisted of daily posts, weekly question and answer sessions, and weekly cognitive behavioral counseling with a smoking cessation counselor.
In contrast to the Facebook users, the control group received a recommendation from the National Cancer Institute's “ Smokefree ” website and was encouraged to actively use it for the duration of the experiment.
The authors assessed the abstinence of a total of 500 participants at the beginning of the study, then after three months, six months and finally after one year. Participants received a monetary incentive consisting of gift cards for each success. Additionally, a bonus of $20, with a possible total incentive of $100 after one year.
“The results suggest that the social media environment can be an interesting tool for treating tobacco addiction, even for those who are not ready to quit. This particular group may have only participated in the study because of financial incentives, but their engagement and intermittent abstinence suggest that a social media intervention could help them work toward long-term abstinence,”
explains study author Danielle Ramo.
Successful interventions
Researchers found that the social media program had significant effects on smoking cessation during the 90-day period that the intervention was active. However, as expected, the researchers also found that long-term abstinence only occurred among those who were willing to actually quit smoking.
“Overall, we saw high engagement, with more than three quarters of project participants commenting on Facebook at least once during the intervention and the average person commenting 31 times,”
Ramo concluded. According to the researchers, the method they used is promising. It can be used effectively to support positive behavioral changes in the short term.
Especially among young adult smokers, who are a challenging group to reach and treat.
Notes:
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