ERs test $300 quit card to kick smoking habit

NCT ID NCT04163081

Disease control Sponsor: Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests a simple program for smokers visiting emergency rooms. Participants get a $300 gift card for nicotine replacement products, self-help materials, and six months of phone support from a specialist. The goal is to see if this approach helps more people quit smoking long-term, compared to usual care. The trial aims to enroll 1,208 daily smokers across Canadian hospitals.

What this could mean

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

Active substance: behavioural intervention (gift card and counseling)
What this could lead to: If successful, this could provide a simple, effective way to help many smokers quit, reducing tobacco-related diseases and healthcare costs.
What could go wrong: This is a behavioral intervention, not a drug, so results depend on individual motivation. The trial is still recruiting, and long-term success rates may be modest.

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 1,208 people

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

Started

Apr 2022

Expected to finish

Mar 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 years and older

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: * Current daily smoker (smokes ≥ 5 cigarettes per day); * ≥ 18 years of age (the age of majority in Ontario); * For ED sites only, assigned a CTAS level of 2-5 (emergent to non-urgent); * Able to read and understand English or French; * Resides in Ontario and eligible for Ontario Health Insurance Plan (to permit linkage with administrative data housed at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences \[ICES\]); * Available and willing to participate in follow-up assessments over the next 12 months; * Has access to a telephone or computer; * Able to provide informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Currently participating in this or another smoking cessation study; * For ED sites only, assigned a CTAS level of 1 (resuscitation - the most seriously ill patients with highest likelihood of hospital admission) or in psychiatric emergency unit; * Pregnant, planning to become pregnant over the next year, or breastfeeding; * Has morbid illness which will prevent completion of 26-week follow-up (e.g., receiving palliative care); * In the opinion of the attending physician, manifests acute physical and/or psychiatric illness or has cognitive impairment that would preclude participation in/benefit from the intervention. * Scheduled for a known elected surgery, procedure, or future hospitalization during the study period.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Emergencies nicotine dependence

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Nicotine dependence, cigarettes Nicotine withdrawal

How to take part

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

The places running it

4 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
The official record

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

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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.

ERs test $300 quit card to kick smoking habit

What the study statuses mean