WhatsApp-Based Coaching Program to Support Smoking and Vaping Cessation Among Young People: Pre-Post Study on Acceptance and Preliminary Efficacy.

Background: The use of tobacco cigarettes and electronic nicotine products is widespread among young people in Switzerland. At the same time, the instant messaging platform WhatsApp (Meta Platforms, Inc) is the most frequently used smartphone app in this population group. The provision of individually tailored, evidence-based coaching messages via WhatsApp seems promising to support smoking cessation in adolescents and young adults.

Objective: This study aims to test the feasibility, acceptance, and preliminary efficacy of a newly developed, semiautomated WhatsApp-based intervention program to support smoking and vaping cessation and reduction in adolescents and young adults.

Methods: Recruitment took place in Switzerland in 2023 and 2024 via various channels, both online and offline. For a period of 11 weeks, regular users of cigarettes or electronic cigarettes, aged between 16 and 30 years, received individually tailored messages on how to deal with cravings or stressful situations and how to stop or reduce smoking. A separate WhatsApp channel provided the opportunity to ask individual questions to a counselor. A one-group pre-post design was used to obtain preliminary information on the acceptability and potential efficacy of the program.

Results: A total of 167 young people (mean age 23.2, SD 4.0 years; n=95, 56.9% women and n=72, 43.1% men) who regularly smoked tobacco cigarettes (n=81, 48.5%), vaped electronic nicotine products (n=17, 10.2%), or used both (n=69, 41.3%) were recruited for participation in the program. Of these, 100 (59.9%) intended to stop smoking or vaping while 67 (40.1%) aimed at reducing their use. The participants actively engaged in an average of 5.5 (SD 3.5) of the 11 program weeks, the average number of interactions with the program was 26.8 (SD 26.1), and the average duration from the start of the program to the last interaction was 45.0 (SD 31.1) days. The follow-up survey at the end of the 11-week coaching program was completed by 108 (64.7%) participants. The generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses revealed significant reductions in the mean number of days in the last 30 days on which tobacco cigarettes were used from 20.6 (SD 11.8) at baseline to 14.0 (SD 12.0) at post assessment (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 0.68, P<.001) and for electronic nicotine products from 11.1 1 (SD 13.1) days at baseline to 7.7 (SD 11.3) days at follow-up (IRR 0.71, P=.005). Overall, 6/108 (5.6%) participants in the follow-up survey stated that they neither consumed tobacco cigarettes nor electronic nicotine products in the last 30 days.

Conclusions: The WhatsApp-based program appears to be a feasible, moderately accepted, and promising intervention for reducing the consumption of tobacco cigarettes and electronic nicotine products among young people. A larger-scale randomized controlled trial would be reasonable in order to make more substantiated statements about the program's efficacy. .