Leave The Pack Behind: Health Professionals

Resources for Sale

Smoke|Quit

Price: $4.00 per set

Shipping costs are included only on orders of 50 sets or more.

Orders can be placed by email or by phone.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 905-688-5550 ext. 4992

Smoke|Quit is a 2-booklet self-help smoking cessation program designed specifically for post-secondary students. Written by two university students (under the supervision of a researcher and health professional), and focus-tested to ensure its appeal, Smoke|Quit successfully speaks to the young adult cohort¹. Specifically, Smoke offers precontemplative smokers – those with no plans to quit smoking – a tongue-in-cheek view of smoking and the numerous social pressures to quit. It contains interesting information about so-called “light” and “mild” cigarettes, how tobacco companies target young adult smokers with promotional events at nightclubs, and tobacco pollution/ production issues in developing countries. Quit is designed for smokers in the contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance stages of quitting smoking – i.e., those thinking of or trying to quit and stay smokefree. It includes cognitive and behavioural activities for the reader to implement, presents current research into quitting, and offers a quit-plan emphasizing issues of concern to post-secondary smokers. Overall, the Smoke|Quit booklets are geared towards student life experiences common for this age cohort, and are graphically designed to appeal to young adults.

Use of this intervention in two previous controlled trials has produced very satisfactory quit rates. Travis and Lawrance (2003) reported that 14% of participants using this intervention quit smoking (PDF ), while Lawrance (2004) determined in a separate study that 13% of university smokers using this intervention quit smoking.

1. Four separate focus groups were conducted and facilitated by one undergraduate student under the supervision of Lawrance. The purpose was to assess smokers’ immediate reactions to Smoke|Quit and to ascertain the degree to which the booklets appealed to university smokers in varying stages of change. Participants were given time to review Smoke|Quit, then participated in a structured discussion regarding the readability, visual appeal, clarity of instructions, and attractiveness of physical characteristics of the booklets. The data collected revealed that smokers in precontemplation and contemplation greatly preferred Smoke over Quit, due to the ‘tongue-in-cheek’ style of writing and the interesting information that was presented. Smokers in the later stages of change (with greater intention to quit smoking) enjoyed both booklets, but they were clearly more appreciative than the precontemplators of the detailed information on quitting that was presented in Quit. Likewise, only the smokers most committed to quitting agreed that they would actually fill in the self-assessment quizzes shown in the booklets. Finally, all focus group participants appeared pleased when they were told that they could keep the booklets. Thus, the booklets seemed to hold stage-specific appeal to smokers and to be positively received and easily understood by members of the target audience.