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Can a WhatsApp message help smokers quit?

NCT ID NCT03714971

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

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
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 This study
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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 Sep 17, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Researchers at a smoking cessation clinic in Turkey tested whether adding WhatsApp messages to routine care helps people stop smoking. Adults who smoked at least one cigarette a day and used WhatsApp most days joined the study. Everyone received standard clinic support, and half also got 60 messages over three months based on a behavior-change model. The team compared quit rates at one, three, and six months.

What this could mean

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

Active substance
WhatsApp messages added to a smoking cessation clinic program
What this could lead to
If it works, clinics could add a low-cost messaging service to routine stop-smoking care and reach more people between visits.
What could go wrong
This is a small study at one clinic, and success relied on people reporting their own smoking. The approach may not work as well in other settings or with different patients.

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

127 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Mar 2017

Finished

Oct 2017

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 65 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

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.

Inclusion Criteria: * Among patients applying to the smoking cessation outpatient clinic between March and October 2017, * \>18-year old volunteers who smoked at least one cigarette/day, * using WhatsApp at least on four days of the week, * accepting the 3-month follow-up were included in the study. Exclusion Criteria: * Besides people who did not meet the inclusion criteria, other patients applying to the clinic but who were referred to another centre without receiving any treatment, * people who were not 'ready to quit' according to the TTM stages of change evaluation * who had already quit before applying to the clinic were excluded. * If two or more patients were living in the same house or had applied to the clinic together, only the first of these was included and the rest were excluded from the study, as they could show the arriving messages to their friend/ partner/ relative.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

nicotine dependence Smoking Cessation

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Smoking cessation

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Ege University Faculty of Medicine Public Health Departmant

    Izmir, 35100, Turkey (Türkiye)

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