Twitter could help smokers quit smoking, according to a recent study.
Researchers at Stanford University and the University of California-Irvine found that when subjects in a smoking cessation program tweet each other regularly, they're more successful at kicking the habit. Specifically, daily "auto messages" that encourage and direct the social media exchanges may be more effective than traditional social media interventions for quitting smoking.
They found that overall engagement in two consecutive Tweet2Quit groups was high, with 78 percent of members tweeting their fellow study subjects at least once during the 100-day study.
"Our results indicate that incorporating social media-delivered auto messages from trained counselors was effective in promoting smoking cessation," researcher Cornelia Pechmann said in a statement. "The twice-daily messages encouraged people to tweet their group members, which made them more accountable for quitting."
For the study, members of the Tweet2Quit's two closed, 20-person groups communicated online via Twitter for 100 days. Participants each received a free supply of nicotine patches, along with daily automated text messages. They were encouraged to use a Web-based guide to develop a cessation plan and were asked to tweet their group at least once a day about their progress.
There were no expert facilitators in the groups; the smokers themselves supported one another. However, the daily automessages encouraged and directed peer-to-peer discussions, and distinct tweeting spikes occurred when the messages were sent, at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
"The Twitter environment created a sort of party dynamic," Pechmann said. "That's especially important for social smokers. In addition, group leaders naturally emerged, facilitating the online conversations. These leaders played a critical role in keeping people engaged."
Researchers found that several types of tweets related positively to smoking abstinence. The more people shared about setting a quit date, using nicotine patches, countering roadblocks, utilizing self-rewards, believing in themselves and feeling pride, the more likely they were to remain smoke-free.
Support, accountability, advice and bragging rights are a few of the benefits that make social media a promising platform for self-help groups, Pechmann noted. However, while health-related online forums, blogs and websites can be informative, they lack the instantaneous interaction of Twitter.
The findings are detailed in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
