Smoking Cessation Programme in Workplaces in Hong Kong (Phase Ⅴ)

• Status: Recruiting
• Trial end date: 2023-12-30
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Smoking causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancers and diabetes, and it has been a leading risk factor for death globally. Despite the availability of smoking cessation services locally, most smokers do not use such services. Workplace is one of the most convenient platforms to provide smoking cessation services and over 55% of smokers are employed according to the local population-based survey. Moreover, The COVID-19 pandemic and new normal increase in mental health burden to people in the workplace. An online survey during the pandemic found 88% of Hong Kong employees suffered from stress at work during the past 7 days. Mental health can be both precursors and consequences of smoking. However, the effectiveness of a smoking cessation programme conducted in workplace is yet to be examined in Hong Kong, and the mental health support for smoking employees in promoting smoking cessation is not clear. Thus, this study aims to test, by a 2-arm RCT, the effectiveness of an intervention of which includes mobile phone-based intervention on reducing mental health symptoms and smoking cessation in workplaces in Hong Kong; identify facilitators and barriers of successful policy implementation and quitting; examine and evaluate the company environment and their policies in promoting smoking cessation.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: The University of Hong Kong
• Collaborator: Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon
• Treatments: Nicotine

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Hong Kong residents aged 18 or above

2. Smoke at least 1 cigarette per day or use e-cigarette (EC) or heated tobacco product (HTP) daily

3. PSS-4 score ≥ 6, or GAD-2 score≥ 3, or PHQ-2 score≥ 3

4. Able to communicate in Cantonese/Mandarin and read Chinese

5. Able to use instant messaging tool (e.g. WhatsApp) for communication.

6. Stay in Hong Kong during the intervention and follow-up periods (12 months)

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Smokers who are psychologically or physically unable to communicate

2. Currently following other smoking cessation program(s)

3. Smokers who have severe mental illness