<p>Micro-blogging website Twitter may help smokers kick the butt more efficiently than traditional methods, according to a new study.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Researchers found subjects in one of the first real-time, fully automated, Twitter-based smoking intervention programmes – Tweet2Quit - were twice as successful at kicking the habit than those using traditional methods.<br /><br />The study found Tweet2Quit participants reported 40 per cent sustained abstinence compared to 20 per cent for control participants after 60 days.<br /><br />"Our current results indicate significant possibilities for using social media as a delivery mechanism for health prevention intervention, specifically in smoking cessation," said Cornelia Pechmann, from University of California.<br /><br />"Because of the low cost and high scalability of social media, Tweet2Quit has tremendous potential to deliver low-cost tobacco treatments on a global scale," Pechmann said.<br /><br />Tweet2Quit uses a hybrid approach combining automated messages delivered to small, private, virtual self-help groups of smokers who are motivated to quit via the social media platform of Twitter.<br /><br />The messages are based on clinical guidelines for smoking cessation and employ positive, open-ended questions that encourage online discussion, such as "what will you do when you feel the urge to smoke?"<br /><br />On average, about 23 per cent of tweets were in response to these automated texts, while 77 per cent were spontaneous, researchers said.<br /><br />"Incorporating social media-delivered automessages written by tobacco treatment experts was effective in promoting smoking cessation," said Pechmann.<br /><br />"The twice-daily messages encouraged people to tweet their group members, which made them more accountable for quitting," she said.<br /><br />"The online virtual support groups provide us with novel insights into the process by which smokers are committing to quitting and supporting each other in these efforts," said Judith J Prochaska from Stanford University.<br /><br />"Our findings provide evidence to help re-establish clinical recommendations on the utility of support networks for aiding cessation," said Prochaska.<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal Tobacco Control. <br /></p>
<p>Micro-blogging website Twitter may help smokers kick the butt more efficiently than traditional methods, according to a new study.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Researchers found subjects in one of the first real-time, fully automated, Twitter-based smoking intervention programmes – Tweet2Quit - were twice as successful at kicking the habit than those using traditional methods.<br /><br />The study found Tweet2Quit participants reported 40 per cent sustained abstinence compared to 20 per cent for control participants after 60 days.<br /><br />"Our current results indicate significant possibilities for using social media as a delivery mechanism for health prevention intervention, specifically in smoking cessation," said Cornelia Pechmann, from University of California.<br /><br />"Because of the low cost and high scalability of social media, Tweet2Quit has tremendous potential to deliver low-cost tobacco treatments on a global scale," Pechmann said.<br /><br />Tweet2Quit uses a hybrid approach combining automated messages delivered to small, private, virtual self-help groups of smokers who are motivated to quit via the social media platform of Twitter.<br /><br />The messages are based on clinical guidelines for smoking cessation and employ positive, open-ended questions that encourage online discussion, such as "what will you do when you feel the urge to smoke?"<br /><br />On average, about 23 per cent of tweets were in response to these automated texts, while 77 per cent were spontaneous, researchers said.<br /><br />"Incorporating social media-delivered automessages written by tobacco treatment experts was effective in promoting smoking cessation," said Pechmann.<br /><br />"The twice-daily messages encouraged people to tweet their group members, which made them more accountable for quitting," she said.<br /><br />"The online virtual support groups provide us with novel insights into the process by which smokers are committing to quitting and supporting each other in these efforts," said Judith J Prochaska from Stanford University.<br /><br />"Our findings provide evidence to help re-establish clinical recommendations on the utility of support networks for aiding cessation," said Prochaska.<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal Tobacco Control. <br /></p>