Smoking CessationNCT07296848
Health Communications for Adults Smoking Nondaily
A study testing Targeted Smoking Messages in people with Smoking Cessation, run by Bethany Shorey Fennell, PhD at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this study is to develop smoking health risk messaging targeted to adults who smoke some days, but not smoke every day (nondaily). The main purpose is to learn what type of smoking health risk messages will be most likely to encourage adults nondaily to quit completely. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Smoking Cessation
- What is being tested?
- Targeted Smoking Messages
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 320 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 17 Apr 2026to Jun 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- individuals that report smoking at least one combustible cigarette per day on 4-28 days in the past 30 days
- able to read/write in English
- able to give informed consent
- no history of daily smoking
Who cannot join
- enrolled in smoking cessation treatment
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
About this study
The goal of this study is to develop smoking health risk messaging targeted to adults who smoke some days, but not smoke every day (nondaily). The main purpose is to learn what type of smoking health risk messages will be most likely to encourage adults nondaily to quit completely. Aim 1will iteratively obtain qualitative feedback from adults smoking nondaily on initial message designs, resulting in 12 final messages. Aim 2 will test message properties using a 2 (health vs. social messages) x 2 (positive vs. negative messages) between subjects design to ascertain which messages promote proximal outcomes associated with quitting cigarettes (e.g., new knowledge, risk perceptions, motivation and intentions to quit).
- Conditions
- Smoking Cessation
- Being tested
- Targeted Smoking Messages
- Medical subject headings
- Smoking Cessation
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Targeted Smoking MessagesBehavioural
Participants will view 3 messages within the assigned condition (PH, PS, NH, NS) in a random order. Each message will be displayed for a minimum of 30 seconds.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Positive Health Messaging (PH) | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Targeted Smoking Messages |
| Negative Health Messaging (NH) | Active comparator | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Targeted Smoking Messages |
| Positive Social Messaging (PS) | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Targeted Smoking Messages |
| Negative Social Messaging (NS) | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Targeted Smoking Messages |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Knowledge
Knowledge will be assessed with items based on the ITC-4 (International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey) that map onto information presented in the messages (e.g., "Does smoking cause…" heart disease, lung cancer in others; Yes, No, I don't know)
Measured: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)
Change in Worry
Worry will be assessed with 4 items, "How [worried, anxious, fearful, concerned] are you about the effects of smoking?" (1=Not at all, 7=Extremely).
Measured: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)
Change in Risk perception
Risk perceptions will be assessed with 3 items, "If you [don't/do] quit smoking for good, what are your chances of ever developing a smoking-related health problem?" and "How susceptible do you feel you are to developing a smoking-related health problem?" (1=Lowest susceptibility, 7=Highest susceptibility). These will be averaged to form a measure of personal absolute risk
Measured: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)
Change in the Contemplation Ladder
Motivation to quit will be measured with the Contemplation Ladder, rating the position on an 11-rung ladder (0-10) corresponding to stages from "no thought of quitting" (0) to "taking action" (10)
Measured: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)
Change in the Motivation to Stop Scale
Motivation to quit will be measured with the Motivation to Stop Scale, Level of motivation to stop smoking is measured with seven response categories ranging from 1 (lowest) to level 7 (highest level of motivation to stop smoking)
Measured: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)
Change in intention to quit
Intention to quit will be measured with the question "What best describes your intent to stop smoking completely, not even a puff?" (1=Never expect to quit, 4=Will quit in the next 30 days)
Measured: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted22 Dec 2025
- Study start17 Apr 2026
- Primary completionJun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completionJun 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Smoking CessationStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 320 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Bethany Shorey Fennell, PhD
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor-investigator, Bethany Shorey Fennell, PhD, University of Kentucky
- Investigators
- Bethany Shorey Fennell, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Kentucky
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07296848
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 94633
- Other IDs
- R03CA286623
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 18 Dec 2025
- Last updated
- 27 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No