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Enrolling by Invitation

NCT Number: NCT07296848

Health Communications for Adults Smoking Nondaily

The goal of this study is to develop smoking health risk messaging targeted to adults who smoke some days, but not smoke every day (nondaily). The main purpose is to learn what type of smoking health risk messages will be most likely to encourage adults nondaily to quit completely. Aim 1will iteratively obtain qualitative feedback from adults smoking nondaily on initial message designs, resulting in 12 final messages. Aim 2 will test message properties using a 2 (health vs. social messages) x 2 (positive vs. negative messages) between subjects design to ascertain which messages promote proximal outcomes associated with quitting cigarettes (e.g., new knowledge, risk perceptions, motivation and intentions to quit).

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Key information

Conditions

Smoking Cessation Behavior Health Behavior

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky, 40506, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • individuals that report smoking at least one combustible cigarette per day on 4-28 days in the past 30 days
  • able to read/write in English
  • able to give informed consent
  • no history of daily smoking

Exclusion criteria

  • enrolled in smoking cessation treatment

Treatment and study plan

Targeted Smoking Messages

Behavioral

Participants will view 3 messages within the assigned condition (PH, PS, NH, NS) in a random order. Each message will be displayed for a minimum of 30 seconds.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Knowledge

    Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)

    Knowledge will be assessed with items based on the ITC-4 (International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey) that map onto information presented in the messages (e.g., "Does smoking cause…" heart disease, lung cancer in others; Yes, No, I don't know)

  2. Change in Worry

    Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)

    Worry will be assessed with 4 items, "How [worried, anxious, fearful, concerned] are you about the effects of smoking?" (1=Not at all, 7=Extremely).

  3. Change in Risk perception

    Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)

    Risk perceptions will be assessed with 3 items, "If you [don't/do] quit smoking for good, what are your chances of ever developing a smoking-related health problem?" and "How susceptible do you feel you are to developing a smoking-related health problem?" (1=Lowest susceptibility, 7=Highest susceptibility). These will be averaged to form a measure of personal absolute risk

  4. Change in the Contemplation Ladder

    Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)

    Motivation to quit will be measured with the Contemplation Ladder, rating the position on an 11-rung ladder (0-10) corresponding to stages from "no thought of quitting" (0) to "taking action" (10)

  5. Change in the Motivation to Stop Scale

    Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)

    Motivation to quit will be measured with the Motivation to Stop Scale, Level of motivation to stop smoking is measured with seven response categories ranging from 1 (lowest) to level 7 (highest level of motivation to stop smoking)

  6. Change in intention to quit

    Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (approximately 1 hour)

    Intention to quit will be measured with the question "What best describes your intent to stop smoking completely, not even a puff?" (1=Never expect to quit, 4=Will quit in the next 30 days)

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Bethany Shorey Fennell, PhD

Other

Collaborators

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Dec 22, 2025
Registry last updated
Apr 28, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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