Adolescent Smokers’ Preferred Smoking Cessation Methods

Abstract

Interventions that are efficacious and appeal to youth are needed to help adolescents quit smoking. High school smokers (N = 585) completed surveys about their smoking cessation preferences. When asked which of 13 quitting options they would most prefer to use, 28.2% selected quit contracts with friends, and 7.6% endorsed self-help programs. Nicotine replacement therapy, group programs and web-based programs were preferred by 4.9%, 3.9%, and 1.0% of respondents, respectively. Most students wanted proof of the intervention's effectiveness. Confidentiality and ease of use were favourably associated with self-help and pharmacological interventions, while social support was associated with group programs. Findings suggest that self-directed interventions, offered as part of a school-wide challenge, with prizes awarded to students who quit, are attractive to youth. More research is needed to determine how to engage adolescent smokers in the quitting process.