Motivational text messages help smokers to quit smoking?

Updated Trends: research published in the Lancet has revealed that SMS messages helped the patients to quit smoking. According to a study, sending text messages to a smoker’s mobile phones doubles the chances of the smoker to quit smoking.

Some 3,000 smokers were tested for ‘txt2stop’ trial, that had sent inspirational messages that encouraged the smokers to give up smoking. Compared to other people,  the participants were twice likely to give up the habit.

Experts – with the help of the smokers – had designed some text messages, which had provided encouragement to the smokers to quit smoking. The messages had also advised people on how to deal with their weight while quitting and also helped with the craving.

For instance, ‘This is it! QUIT DAY, Throw away all your fags. TODAY us the start of being QUIT forever, you can do it!!!’. Some of the messages were also related to the cravings of the smokers. Some smokers were randomly selected and were sent five text messages per day for five weeks. The number of messages then reduced to three per week for the next six months. As a result, the smokers were able to receive the message at the right time with the word ‘crave’ or ‘lapse’. Later, a saliva test was done to check if they had really quit smoking. It was found that many of them had managed to quit smoking.

If you are part of the trial or not, it’s a brand new day, so why don’t you just kick that butt!