Smoking cessation programs for teen smokers have had negligible effects on quit rates, and the efficacy of these programs have been hindered by low recruitment and high attrition rates. The goals of this three-year project are to: 1) test on a larger scale a recruitment strategy, found promising based on pilot data, that uses principles of social marketing, compliance tactics (foot in the door), and science education to enlist teen smokers in a low intensity smoking cessation program, and 2) develop a low intensity self-help quit program for adolescent smokers ages 15-18 that incorporates written self-help materials, a motivational cessation video, and telephone counseling. During Phase 1 of the project, an advisory panel of teen smokers and ex-smokers will be used in formative studies involving work groups and one-on-one interviews to develop, test and refine components of the recruitment and cessation intervention before their full implementation in a randomized trial. During Phase 2, as part of a randomized field trial, we will test a two- step recruitment strategy and self-help quit program. For recruitment, both teen smokers from certain communities and those teen smokers who frequent malls will be asked to comply with a small behavior at a """"""""mobile booth"""""""" in malls across North Carolina (step 1), that engages them to think about the benefits of quitting smoking and the effects of nicotine on brain functioning via a 3D animated video, before asking them to join a stop smoking program (step 2). Teens who participated in the """"""""mobile booth"""""""" activities will be called within a month and asked to join the low- intensity smoking cessation program. Teens will be randomized to one of three areas: 1) written self-help guide only, 2) written self-help guide plus a motivational smoking cessation video, or 3) written self-help guide plus telephone counseling. These less intensive programs are reported to be the interventions of choice among adolescent smokers, are cost- effective, offer potential for wide dissemination, and can reach truant and out of school teen smokers. It is predicted that the self-help guide with motivational adjuncts (video/telephone counseling) will be more effective than the self-help guide alone at increasing 30-day and continuous abstinence and readiness to quit at 3 and 9 months post- baseline. Among the motivational adjuncts, it is expected that telephone counseling will be more effective at increasing 30-day and continuous abstinence and readiness to quit at 3 and 9 months post-baseline than will be the motivational cessation video.
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