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Can your phone help you drink smarter? new study tests breathalyzer apps and coaching

NCT ID NCT06994962

Symptom relief Sponsor: Northeastern University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tests a program that combines a smartphone breathalyzer, a blood alcohol estimator app, and a brief counseling session to help young adults who drink heavily. Researchers want to see if these tools are easy to use and helpful for drinking more moderately. The study involves 90 participants aged 18-25 who report frequent heavy drinking.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Smartphone breathalyzer, BAC estimator app, self-texting app, and motivational interview
What this could lead to
If successful, this could provide a practical, tech-based tool to help young adults reduce heavy drinking and its negative consequences.
What could go wrong
This is an early-stage feasibility study with only 90 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The intervention relies on voluntary use, which may limit effectiveness.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 90 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

May 2025

Expected to finish

Jan 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 25 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

1. Be between the ages of 18-25 2. Be able to read English and complete study evaluations 3. Report at least four days with heavy episodic drinking (i.e., 4 or more drinks for women and 5 or more drinks for men) out of the prior 30 days 4. Report having consumed at least one alcoholic drink during a minimum of 12 days out of the prior 30 so that subjects will have multiple opportunities to use the moderate drinking technologies during the intervention period. 5. Meet, at minimum, DSM-5 criteria for a mild alcohol use disorder (i.e., meet at least 2 diagnostic criteria) 6. Self-report interest in using a smartphone app to help reduce drinking with a score of at least 3 on a 0-10 scale indicating at least a degree of openness to using technology to moderate drinking. Exclusion Criteria No subject may: 1. Have been in inpatient or intensive outpatient treatment within the past 12 months 2. Have used a smartphone application to facilitate moderate drinking more than 1 time within the past 12 months 3. Meet DSM-5 criteria for current substance use disorder with the exception of tobacco use disorder, mild or moderate alcohol use disorder or mild cannabis use disorder. 4. History of alcohol withdrawal or medically-assisted detoxification as individuals with this history will likely be in need of more intensive treatment than is offered in this study. 5. Be psychotic or otherwise severely psychiatrically disabled 6. Report a history of a medical condition that would contraindicate the consumption of alcohol (e.g., liver disease, cardiac abnormality, pancreatitis, diabetes, neurological problems, and gastrointestinal disorders).

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

alcohol abuse Alcohol Drinking Drinking Behavior

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Alcohol drinking Alcohol use Drinking behavior

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Northeastern University

    RECRUITING

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02115-5005, United States

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