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Can a brief cognitive intervention assist smokers in giving up?
ISRCTN ISRCTN65854845
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier
Public title Can a brief cognitive intervention assist smokers in giving up?
Scientific title Evaluation of the effectiveness of acceptance of the negative reinforcement explanation for smoking in facilitating smoking cessation: A cluster-randomised controlled trial
Acronym N/A
Serial number at source N/A
Study hypothesis Primary hypothesis:
Successful communication of the negative reinforcement explanation for smoking reduces the urge to smoke (thereby facilitating smoking cessation) (Hypothesis I).

Secondary hypotheses:
Three possible mechanisms for this effect are hypothesised:

Acceptance of the negative reinforcement explanation for smoking reduces the urge to smoke via:
1. Decreased negative outcome expectations about remaining abstinent from smoking (Hypothesis II)
2. Increased positive outcome expectations about remaining abstinent from smoking (Hypothesis III)
3. Increased self-efficacy to abstain from smoking (Hypothesis IV)
Ethics approval Application will be submitted to the East London and the City Research Ethics Committee 1 for their May 2008 meeting.
Study design Single-centre, two-group cluster-randomised controlled trial.
Countries of recruitment United Kingdom
Disease/condition/study domain Smoking cessation
Participants - inclusion criteria Participants must be attending for treatment at the NHS specialist smoking cessation clinic (SSCC) at The Royal London Hospital in East London. All clinic clients who provide informed consent and are able to fill in the study forms in English will be eligible.
Participants - exclusion criteria Unable to fill in the study forms in English.
Anticipated start date 02/06/2008
Anticipated end date 29/05/2009
Status of trial Ongoing
Patient information material
Target number of participants 140
Interventions Interventions:
Both experimental and control interventions will be delivered as the last part of the pre-quit group session (week two of a seven-week course). They will consist either of a 15-20 minute didactic presentation for the experimental intervention, or a 20 minute video for the control intervention. Both will be followed by ten minutes of discussion. One week later, again at the end of the standard group treatment session, this will be followed up by a 15-minute discussion of the previous week's session.

Experimental intervention:
The intervention communicates a set of ideas aimed at changing the way patients perceive the benefits of smoking and the post-quit withdrawal discomfort. It attempts to explain that in dependent smokers chronic smoking creates adaptation to nicotine. Withdrawal discomfort ensues in the absence of smoking. Smoking behaviour is largely driven by the desire to remove or avoid this unpleasant state. The apparently positive effects of smoking upon perceived stress, mood and concentration are primarily misattribution of the relief of withdrawal discomfort experienced immediately after smoking a cigarette. The withdrawal discomfort and urges to smoke which follow smoking cessation weaken after a few weeks. However, complete abstinence is necessary to achieve this, as even a single cigarette can reinstate the need to carry on smoking.

In a task to be completed as homework before the second treatment session, participants would be asked to monitor their urge to smoke over a three-hour period of abstinence and complete a task card to record the increase in urge to smoke relative to the increasing period of abstinence, and the abrupt alleviation of the resulting tension after smoking.

Control intervention:
Participants will view a 19-minute DVD entitled Smoking and Human Physiology (AIMS Multimedia). The DVD details the adverse health consequences of smoking and will be followed by a discussion. The video does not cover any aspect of the cognitive intervention.
Primary outcome measure(s) Urges to smoke and withdrawal symptoms, assessed using the Mood & Physical Symptoms Scale (T2 and T3)

Timepoints:
T0: At baseline, immediately prior to the first intervention session
T1: Immediately following the first intervention session
T2: One week later, immediately following the second intervention session
T3: At follow-up one week following the second session
Secondary outcome measure(s) The following will be assessed by a 12-item questionnaire developed for the current research:
1. Participants' cognitions regarding the positive outcome expectations of smoking (T0, T1, T2, T3)
2. Expectations of the quitting process (T0, T1, T2, T3)
3. Self-efficacy (T0, T1, T2, T3)

Timepoints:
T0: At baseline, immediately prior to the first intervention session
T1: Immediately following the first intervention session
T2: One week later, immediately following the second intervention session
T3: At follow-up one week following the second session
Sources of funding Cancer Research UK PhD studentship (ref: C4770/A7173)
Trial website
Publications
Contact name Mr  Mairtin  McDermott
  Address Health Psychology Section
Department of Psychology
King's College London
5th Floor Bermondsey Wing
Guy's Campus
  City/town London
  Zip/Postcode SE1 9RT
  Country United Kingdom
Sponsor Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London (UK)
  Address DeCrespigny Park
Denmark Hill
  City/town London
  Zip/Postcode SE5 8AF
  Country United Kingdom
  Sponsor website: http://www.iop.kcl.ac.uk
Date applied 17/03/2008
Last edited 30/04/2008
Date ISRCTN assigned 30/04/2008
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