Randomized controlled trial of a web‐based computer‐tailored smoking cessation program as a supplement to nicotine patch therapy

Abstract

Aim To assess the efficacy of World Wide Web‐based tailored behavioral smoking cessation materials among nicotine patch users. Design Two‐group randomized controlled trial. Setting World Wide Web in England and Republic of Ireland. Participants A total of 3971 subjects who purchased a particular brand of nicotine patch and logged‐on to use a free web‐based behavioral support program. Intervention Web‐based tailored behavioral smoking cessation materials or web‐based non‐tailored materials. Measurements Twenty‐eight‐day continuous abstinence rates were assessed by internet‐based survey at 6‐week follow‐up and 10‐week continuous rates at 12‐week follow‐up. Findings Using three approaches to the analyses of 6‐ and 12‐week outcomes, participants in the tailored condition reported clinically and statistically significantly higher continuous abstinence rates than participants in the non‐tailored condition. In our primary analyses using as a denominator all subjects who logged‐on to the treatment site at least once, continuous abstinence rates at 6 weeks were 29.0% in the tailored condition versus 23.9% in the non‐tailored condition (OR = 1.30; P = 0.0006); at 12 weeks continuous abstinence rates were 22.8% versus 18.1%, respectively (OR = 1.34; P = 0.0006). Moreover, satisfaction with the program was significantly higher in the tailored than in the non‐tailored condition. Conclusions The results of this study demonstrate a benefit of the web‐based tailored behavioral support materials used in conjunction with nicotine replacement therapy. A web‐based program that collects relevant information from users and tailors the intervention to their specific needs had significant advantages over a web‐based non‐tailored cessation program.