Taking a teen-friendly approach to get young smokers to quit

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The National Cancer Institute is rolling out a new quitting program aimed at teens. It includes a website (teen.smokefree.gov) and texting support, and just added a smartphone application, says Erik Auguston, a behavioral scientist at the institute.

The program’s aim: Helping teen smokers quit before they become chronic adult smokers. It comes on the heels of new data showing teen smoking rates are dropping again.

But it’s hardly good news that 19 percent of teens smoke by 12th grade, says Lloyd Johnston, a researcher at the University of Michigan who leads an annual study tracking teen smoking, drinking and drug use. Previous research suggests most of those teens will keep smoking and some light smokers will become heavy smokers, he says.

“(Tobacco) is probably the most important of all the drugs,” Johnston says. “There’s no other product, legal or illegal, that kills as many people.”

But teens are not very receptive to messages about diseases they won’t develop for decades or to programs for adults, Auguston says: “Traditionally, teens and young adults have not actively engaged in quitting smoking.” When they do try to quit, he says, they often go it alone and fail.

The Smokefree Teen program relies upon:

† Messages that emphasize teens are in charge. One slogan on the site about teens and their health decisions: “We’re NOT going to tell you what to do.”

† Materials that focus on teen-specific triggers. Those include social life, test anxiety and peer pressure.

† Technologies teens use. Teens can text QUIT to iQUIT (47848) to start getting helpful messages or visit the website to connect with counselors via instant messaging or phone. There are support networks on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Gannett News Service