SMS Turkey: Harnessing the Power of Text Messaging to Promote Smoking Cessation

• 12-week continuous abstinence [ Time Frame: 12-weeks post-quit day ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  self-reported continuous abstinence since quit day (<=5 cigarettes), verified with carbon monoxide reading (<=8ppm)
  
  

Smoking has long been recognized as a significant public health concern associated with great morbidity and mortality. Although smoking rates have decreased in high income countries, these trends have not been noted for tow and middle income countries. This is especially true in Turkey, which was ranked 6th in the world in smoking consumption. Between 51-63% of Turkish men and 24-26% of Turkish women 15 years of age and older are smokers. With lung cancer the leading cancer-related cause of death for both men and women, effective and accessible smoking cessation interventions are needed. Cell phone technology represents a unique opportunity to deliver evidenced-based smoking cessation behavioral treatments through a delivery mechanism already widely adopted by adults. An estimated 35 million Turks were using cell phones, making them 1.8 times more common than land lines. Cell phone interventions are a unique delivery method because of their 'always on' capability. The rapid uptake of cell phones allows us to potentially reach those who might otherwise not utilize smoking cessation services.

We propose to design and evaluate an evidenced-based smoking intervention that takes advantage of technologies adopted by adult smokers in Turkey. SMS (Smoking Management System) Turkey will have both wide reach and high impact.

To do so, we bring together a multi-national team of smoking and technology health experts dedicated to building the capacity of smoking cessation research expertise in Turkey to reduce the public health burden associated with smoking in Turkey.