Smoke-Free Policy Support for Smoking Cessation
What You Need to Know Before You Apply
What is the purpose of this trial?
This trial evaluates the effectiveness of different methods to reduce secondhand smoke exposure in apartment buildings. It explores two strategies: one encourages all residents to support a smoke-free environment, while the other helps smokers reduce or quit smoking, possibly by relocating. Residents of buildings in Manhattan and the Bronx with more than 50 units can join, especially if they have smoked cigarettes or similar tobacco products at least five days in the last month or are non-smokers living in the same buildings.
As an unphased trial, this study offers participants the chance to contribute to community health improvements and potentially enjoy a healthier living environment.
Do I need to stop taking my current medications to join the trial?
The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It focuses on smoking habits and exposure to secondhand smoke.
Is there any evidence suggesting that this trial's treatments are likely to be safe?
Research shows that smoke-free policies in apartment buildings are generally well-received by residents. Studies have found that these policies can help people smoke less and reduce exposure to secondhand smoke without causing major problems. When communities participate in programs promoting smoke-free living, residents often support these changes and have positive experiences.
Helping smokers quit or cut down, sometimes using nicotine replacement products, is also considered safe. Previous studies suggest these methods can successfully lower smoking rates and improve air quality without significant safety issues.
The combined approach, which includes both resident support and strategies to reduce smoking, aims to increase these benefits. Early findings suggest this approach improves cooperation and further reduces smoking. Since these interventions focus on changing behavior rather than medical treatments, they usually pose minimal risk to participants.12345Why are researchers excited about this trial?
Researchers are excited about the Smoke-Free Policy Support treatments because they offer a fresh approach to helping people quit smoking by engaging the community and combining different strategies. Unlike typical smoking cessation programs that focus solely on individual efforts, these treatments incorporate community forums and creative arts to encourage resident endorsements of smoke-free environments, creating a supportive social atmosphere. Additionally, the combined intervention targets both smokers and non-smokers, aiming to reduce personal smoking and secondhand smoke exposure simultaneously. This holistic approach not only addresses personal habits but also transforms the living environment into a healthier space for everyone involved.
What evidence suggests that this trial's interventions could be effective for reducing secondhand smoke exposure?
Research has shown that programs supported by residents can help reduce smoking in apartment buildings. One study found that over 80% of smokers made positive changes after learning about smoke-free rules. In this trial, participants in the "Compliance through resident endorsement" arm will engage in community forums and creative arts to garner resident endorsements of smoke-free living environments. Meanwhile, the "Compliance through reduction (relocation and reduction of personal smoking) and cessation" arm involves peer educators providing tobacco cessation support and access to nicotine replacement products. The "Compliance through reduction/cessation plus resident endorsement (combined)" arm integrates both approaches, using community support and personal help to achieve even greater reductions in smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.26789
Who Is on the Research Team?
Diana Hernández, PhD
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences
Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?
This trial is for adults over 18 living in certain NYCHA buildings in Manhattan and the Bronx, who are there at least 5 days a week and not moving within two years. Smokers and non-smokers can join but must not have severe health issues that affect consent or participation.Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
Timeline for a Trial Participant
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
Intervention
Participants receive interventions aimed at reducing personal smoking and secondhand smoke exposure through resident endorsement and smoking cessation/relocation programs.
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for changes in smoking behavior and secondhand smoke exposure.
What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?
Interventions
- Reduction (relocation and reduction of personal smoking) and cessation
- Relocation & Cessation
- Resident Endorsement
Trial Overview
The study tests two strategies to cut down secondhand smoke: one encourages all residents to support smoke-free policies (resident endorsement), while the other helps smokers reduce or quit smoking by changing where they smoke.
How Is the Trial Designed?
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Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Buildings assigned will be targeted for a series of 2 in-residence programs that involve community forums and the creative arts to garner resident endorsements of smoke-free living environments. Premised on resident engagement, this arm seeks to impact social and physical dimensions of the residential environment to achieve compliance. The sessions will: 1) inform residents of risks associated with smoking and secondhand smoke; 2) identify reasons to have a smoke-free home, 3) ask residents to sign a pledge on paper and/or virtually; 4) display smoke-free signage on doors and/or social media pages with an original hashtag (#Smokefree\[building address\]); and 5) refer residents to the Smoke-free NYCHA website for information on the policy and existing cessation resources.
The combined intervention will be carried out in the buildings assigned to this RCT arm, which will provide in-residence programs based on the resident endorsement treatment and the smoking relocation/cessation treatment. Both will occur simultaneously with one geared toward all building residents (resident endorsement) and the other targeting smokers (smoking relocation/cessation) with the goal of reducing both personal smoking and secondhand smoke exposure.
Smokers will be referred by the survey team to peer educators from a community-based organization trained to provide peer to peer health education including tobacco cessation support. The peer educator will coordinate smoking cessation support, including serving as a liaison between participant and research team, providing information regarding the smoke-free policy and opportunities for relocation, and connecting participant to access to tobacco replacement therapy and/or physician support if deemed appropriate.
Buildings and study participants assigned to this arm will be recruited and followed over a 12-month period to assess outcomes. No additional programs or services will be delivered to the buildings or residents assigned to this arm beyond standard programs that NYCHA may provide to support the smoke-free mandate. Field staff will document any policy-related signage, activities or information to which these participants are exposed.
Find a Clinic Near You
Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Columbia University
Lead Sponsor
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Collaborator
Citations
A randomized control trial to support smoke-free policy ...
We hypothesize that the reduction/cessation plus resident endorsement intervention will yield significantly larger reductions in personal smoking and ...
Supporting Smoke-Free Policy Compliance in Public ...
The investigators hypothesize that the relocation/cessation plus resident endorsement intervention will yield significantly larger reductions in personal ...
A Review of Smoking Cessation Interventions - PubMed Central
This study highlights the efficacy of combination therapy as a potent strategy for enhancing smoking cessation outcomes. Giulietti et al ...
Reductions in smoking due to ratification of the Framework ...
The quit ratio (comparing the numbers of former and ever smokers) at 45–59 years increased by 1.8% (1.2 to 2.3) 10 years after FCTC ratification ...
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tobaccocontrol.bmj.com
tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/tobaccocontrol/early/2025/01/22/tc-2024-058903.full.pdftc-2024-058903.full.pdf
Objective This study aimed to synthesise contemporary evidence on the effectiveness of TAPS bans on smoking prevalence, initiation and cessation ...
A Randomized Control Trial to support smoke-free policy ...
We hypothesize that the reduction/cessation plus resident endorsement intervention will yield significantly larger reductions in personal smoking and second- ...
Smoke-Free Policy Support for Smoking Cessation
This project seeks to determine the effectiveness of two types of interventions to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke in residential buildings.
Outcomes of a Comprehensive Mobile Smoking Cessation ...
This study aimed to compare engagement, retention, attitudes toward quitting smoking, smoking behavior, and participant feedback between Pivot and QuitGuide.
NCT06651684 | Smoking Cessation Intervention Including ...
Background: The goal of this study is to address parental smoking and social adversity, which can present an obstacle for smoking cessation, ...
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