Abstract
BackgroundA national smoking cessation campaign based on behaviour change theory and operating through both traditional and new media was launched across England during late 2012 (‘Stoptober’). In addition to attempting to start a movement in which smokers would quit at the same time in response to a positive mass quitting trigger, the campaign set smokers the goal of being smoke-free for October and embodied other psychological principles in a range of tools and communications. MethodsData on quit attempts were obtained from 31,566 past-year smokers during nationally representative household surveys conducted monthly between 2007 and 2012. The effectiveness of the campaign was assessed by the increase in national quit attempt rate in October relative to other months in 2012 vs. 2007–2011. ResultsRelative to other months in the year, more people tried to quit in October in 2012 compared with 2007–2011 (OR=1.79, 95%CI=1.20–2.68). In 2012 there was an approximately 50% increase in quitting during October compared with other months of the same year (9.6% vs. 6.6%; OR=1.50, 95%CI=1.05–2.15), whereas in 2007–2011 the rate in October was non-significantly less than in other months of the same period (6.4% vs. 7.5%; OR=0.84, 95%CI=0.70–1.00). Stoptober is estimated to have generated an additional 350,000 quit attempts and saved 10,400 discounted life years (DLY) at less than £415 per DLY in the modal age group. ConclusionsDesigning a national public health campaign with a clear behavioural target (making a serious quit attempt) using key psychological principles can yield substantial behaviour change and public health impact.
Highlights
Smoking is one of the leading risk factors for premature death and disability and is estimated to kill six million people each year (Lim et al, 2012; World Health Organisation, 2012)
These data suggest that during 2012, past-month quit attempts were higher in October than in all other months whereas during the aggregated years 2007–2011 past-month quit attempts were lower in October than all other months
Simple effects revealed that in 2012 there was an increase in past-month quitting during October as compared with all other months (9.6% vs. 6.6%; OR = 1.50, 95%CI = 1.05–2.15), whereas in 2007–2011 there was a non-significant decrease during October (6.4% vs. 7.5%; OR = 0.84, 95%CI = 0.70–1.00)
Summary
Smoking is one of the leading risk factors for premature death and disability and is estimated to kill six million people each year (Lim et al, 2012; World Health Organisation, 2012). In late 2012 the English Department of Health with input from an academic partner (RW) designed a campaign called ‘Stoptober’ and, rather than focusing on the harms of smoking, it aimed to create a positive mass quitting trigger and actively support a social movement around a very specific activity: stopping smoking for 28 days. In addition to attempting to start a movement in which smokers would quit at the same time in response to a positive mass quitting trigger, the campaign set smokers the goal of being smoke-free for October and embodied other psychological principles in a range of tools and communications. The effectiveness of the campaign was assessed by the increase in national quit attempt rate in October relative to other months in 2012 vs 2007–2011. Conclusions: Designing a national public health campaign with a clear behavioural target (making a serious quit attempt) using key psychological principles can yield substantial behaviour change and public health impact
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
