Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Dec 5, 2019
Open Peer Review Period: Dec 5, 2019 - Dec 16, 2019
Date Accepted: Apr 9, 2020
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Efficacy of the Ascure Smoking Cessation Program: A Retrospective Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Smoking cessation helps to extend a healthy life span and reduces medical expenses. However, the standard 12-week smoking cessation program in Japan has several notable problems. First, only 30% of the original participants complete this program. Second, participants may not choose to participate, unless they have health problems or a strong motivation to quit smoking. Third, the program does not assist patients in alleviating their psychological dependence on smoking.
Objective:
This study examined the efficacy of the 24-week ascure program that combines online mentoring, over-the-counter pharmacotherapy, and a smartphone app to address these problems.
Methods:
Using a retrospective study design, we investigated 177 adult smokers who were enrolled in the ascure smoking cessation program between August 2017 and August 2018. The primary outcomes were continuous abstinence rates (CARs) during weeks 9–12 and weeks 21–24. To confirm smoking status, we performed salivary cotinine testing at weeks 12 and 24. We also evaluated the program adherence rate. Finally, we exploratorily analyzed the factors associated with continuous abstinence at weeks 21–24 to thereby provide insights for assisting with long-term continuous abstinence.
Results:
The CARs for weeks 9–12 and weeks 21–24 were 48.6% (95% CI: 41.2–56.0%) and 47·5% (40.0–54.8%), respectively. Program adherence rates were relatively high throughout (72% at week 12 and 60% at week 24). In the analysis of the factors related to the CAR at weeks 21–24, the number of entries in the app’s digital diary and the number of educational videos watched during the first 12 weeks were significant factors.
Conclusions:
The ascure program achieved favorable CARs and participants showed reasonable adherence. Proactive usage of the smartphone app may help contribute to smoking cessation success in the long-term. Therefore, long-term support might help reduce returning to smoking, even after the completion of pharmacological therapy. Clinical Trial: All study procedures were reviewed and approved by the Kanazawa University Institutional Review Board.
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